JUSTICE

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Frank Doran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to bring the provisions of section 50 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 into force.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice is liaising with the Ministry of Defence, Scottish Government and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in order to facilitate the implementation of the Coroners and Justice Act's provisions to allow for fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) in Scotland into the deaths abroad of service personnel.
	Subject to the outcome of the Public Bodies Bill, we plan to implement the Coroners and Justice Act's FAI provisions as soon as practicable in 2012 in parallel with the Act's provisions to improve coroner investigations in England and Wales.

Child: Maintenance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many non-resident parents living in the London borough of Bexley have received (a) suspended and (b) custodial sentences for the non-payment of child maintenance in the last three years.

Maria Miller: I have been asked to reply.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents living in the London Borough of Bexley have received (a) suspended and (b) custodial sentences for the non-payment of child maintenance in the last three years.
	Where a non-resident parent fails to pay maintenance, there are a number of enforcement actions available. Money can be taken directly from a non-resident parent's earnings if the non-resident parent is employed, money can be taken directly from a non-resident parent's bank or building society account, or action can be taken through the courts.
	The most serious forms of enforcement are commitment to prison or disqualification from driving. The decision whether to implement, and the length of the order, is at the discretion of a Magistrates' Court (or Sheriff in Scotland) where they are satisfied that a non-resident parent has “wilfully refused or culpably neglected” to pay child maintenance—but this is not a criminal sanction.
	It is not possible to break down these figures specifically for those non-resident parents who have failed to pay maintenance for children residing in the London Borough of Bexley.
	The following table shows the number of suspended committal sentences and committal sentences from April 2007 to March 2011 rounded to the nearest 5. These figures can be found on page 23 of the following link:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/qss/QSS_sept_2011.pdf
	
		
			 April to March each year Suspended committal sentences Committal sentences 
			 2007-08 480 25 
			 2008-09 580 45 
			 2009-10 760 45 
			 2010-11 1,010 40 
		
	
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Contempt of Court: Sentencing

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been imprisoned for contempt of court in each of the last 10 years by each of the divisions of the courts.

Crispin Blunt: Detailed information collected centrally from court records by the Ministry of Justice on contempt of court beyond 2008 is limited to those occasions where an individual is tried, convicted and sentenced at the Crown Court under sections 8 and 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Information on contempt of court at the magistrates court under the Contempt of Court Act is contained within a miscellaneous group of offences that cannot be separately analysed.
	The following tables provide information on prison receptions for contempt of court from 1998 to 2008 (last available published), and defendants sentenced to immediate custody at the Crown Court under sections 8 and 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 from 2009 and 2010 in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Table 1: Prison receptions for contempt of court from 1998 to 2008 (England and Wales) 
			  Number of persons 
			 1998 588 
			 1999 586 
			 2000 539 
			 2001 442 
			 2002 442 
			 2003 426 
			 2004 435 
			 2005 384 
			 2006 392 
			 2007 297 
			 2008 168 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Defendants sentenced to immediate custody at the Crown Court under sections 8 and 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, England and Wales, 2009-10 
			   2009 2010 
			 Contempt of Court Act 1981 S 12(1)(a) & 14 Wilfully insult a Justice/Justices/witness/officer of the court/solicitor/counsel 12 19 
		
	
	
		
			 1. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Crime: Victims

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to commission research into victims' satisfaction levels with sentences handed down by courts.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice previously commissioned the Witness and Victim Experience Survey, which asked a subset of victims and witnesses about their experiences, perceptions and satisfaction with different aspects of the criminal justice system, including (for those whose cases resulted in convictions) whether they thought the sentence was fair. A Ministry of Justice research report summarising the main findings from the Witness and Victim Experience Survey 2009-10, and examining the factors associated with satisfaction, will be published in 2012.
	In addition, the Ministry of Justice partially funds the British Crime Survey (BCS), which gathers information on the public's perceptions of and victims' satisfaction with various aspects of the criminal justice system, including confidence in and attitudes to sentencing. The BCS 2010-11 findings show that 39% of victims were confident that the criminal justice system is effective (compared with 44% of non-victims) and 56% of victims were confident that the criminal justice system is fair (compared with 63% of non-victims).
	The Ministry of Justice has previously published BCS analysis which covered public attitudes to sentencing and the victim satisfaction with the police and CJS agencies. The report ‘Public confidence in the Criminal Justice System: findings from the British Crime Survey 2002/03 to 2007/08’ can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/public-confidence-cjs.htm
	The Ministry of Justice reviews its research priorities regularly. We are currently considering whether to commission further examination of the BCS data on perceptions of sentencing. A final decision whether to proceed with this will be made in the context of wider research needs, relative priorities and the available budget.

Cybercrime: Prosecutions

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the conviction rate for those charged for improper use of (a) public electronic communications networks and (b) social networking sites;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effects of section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 on the conviction rate for people charged with improper use of (a) public electronic communications networks and (b) social networking sites;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the operation of section 127(3) of the Communications Act 2003; and how many proceedings have been brought under this section of the Act since its implementation.

Crispin Blunt: Defendants proceeded against at the magistrates court and found guilty at all courts, and the conviction ratio for offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 in England and Wales from 2006 to 2010, can be viewed in the table.
	Data held centrally on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database do not include information about the circumstances behind each case, other than that which may be identified from a statute. It is not possible to separately identify those specific cases where the defendant was proceeded against for using a social networking site.
	The Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment on the conviction ratio under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, as the effective working of the Communications Act 2003 comes within the remit of the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
	
		
			 Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts and the conviction ratio(%) (1) , under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 (2) , England and Wales, 2006-10 (3, 4) 
			  2006 2007 20085 2009 2010 
			 Proceeded against 550 680 872 1,126 1,511 
			 Found guilty 377 498 693 873 1,186 
			 Conviction ratio % 69 73 79 78 78 
			 (1) The proportion of defendants proceeded against who were found guilty. (2) Includes offence: Communications Act 2003 under section 127 Sending or causing sending of grossly offensive/indecent/obscene/menacing or false message/matter by electronic communications network. (3) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Offenders: Deportation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign prisoners held at HMP Peterborough are due for removal from the UK at the conclusion of their sentence in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: As at 30 September 2011 there were 92 male and 45 female foreign national prisoners detained in HMP Peterborough. Information on how many are due for removal from the UK at the conclusion of their sentence is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice. However, UKBA report that they are currently considering for deportation 33 foreign nationals in HMP Peterborough
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Death

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have died from each cause in prison in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service uses a classification system based on the apparent cause of death. The actual cause of death is not confirmed until the conclusion of the coroner's inquest which is held into all deaths in custody. The classification of death may change following an inquest or as new information emerges. The information is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Males and females 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 All causes 153 185 165 169 196 
			 Homicide 0 2 3 0 (1)1 
			 Natural causes 83 90 98 105 (1)124 
			 Other non-natural 3 1 3 3 (1)5 
			 Self-inflicted 67 92 61 61 (1)58 
			 Unclassified — — — — (2)8 
			 (1) Provisional. The figures are derived from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Deaths in Prison Custody database. (2) In 2010, a new category of unclassified was introduced. Note: The apparent cause of death is based on the NOMS classification of deaths in prison custody; the self-inflicted deaths category includes a wider range of deaths than suicides and the homicide category includes a wider range of deaths than murder. When comparing these figures with other published data it is important to determine what definitions are used. 
		
	
	Since the beginning of 2010, there has been an apparent increase in the number of deaths in custody where initially the cause of death is unknown and may be subject to further investigation by the coroner such as post mortem or toxicology tests and inquest and also the Prison and Probation Ombudsman's investigation.
	This resulted in a new category of “unclassified deaths” being introduced to reflect cases where the cause of death cannot be immediately established and are subject to longer investigation. Upon receipt of the cause of death the classification is then updated.

Prisoners: Food

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent annually on food and subsistence for prisoners in each prison in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: The information is as follows.
	
		
			 Total food costs—for each public sector prison establishment in England and Wales 
			 £ 
			  2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Acklington 397,772 432,488 443,335 498,371 504,225 
			 Ashwell 274,767 353,351 395,638 381,808 364,254 
			 Askham Grange 68,054 76,862 76,663 73,608 64,770 
			 Aylesbury 198,564 207,023 209,420 208,373 245,752 
			 Bedford 249,060 308,183 324,324 334,142 349,296 
			 Belmarsh 468,094 553,735 544,446 693,064 639,004 
			 Birmingham 516,434 555,325 632,359 776,416 967,956 
			 Blakenhurst(1) — — — — — 
			 Hewell Grange 84,625 94,875 96,313 87,926 100,413 
			 Brockhill(2) 77,167 101,610 101,194 94,703 103,026 
			 Blantyre House 56,997 63,348 68,231 60,862 62,439 
			 Blundeston 217,329 269,380 270,158 348,707 345,408 
			 Brinsford 244,087 289,132 294,674 284,986 288,353 
			 Bristol 269,570 355,009 326,914 328,211 345,419 
			 Brixton 394,682 441,663 437,575 475,151 472,235 
			 Buckley Hall — — — — — 
			 Bullingdon — — — — — 
			 Bullwood Hall 99,554 126,933 132,965 140,303 143,399 
			 Bure(3) — — — — — 
			 Canterbury 146,471 210,885 223,003 223,488 235,649 
			 Cardiff 323,584 381,551 374,100 407,903 446,644 
			 Castington 156,782 223,693 232,222 225,342 255,088 
			 Channings Wood 329,762 350,392 340,765 385,433 413,661 
			 Chelmsford 240,615 376,408 345,313 449,395 464,714 
			 Coldingley 189,248 247,793 249,103 276,425 285,976 
			 Dartmoor 320,549 326,496 361,770 381,382 405,887 
			 Deerbolt 242,831 259,033 290,883 282,042 319,851 
			 Dorchester 117,443 133,356 150,317 152,758 155,114 
			 Dover 146,565 141,568 139,993 226,666 218,009 
			 Downview 192,734 131,071 146,067 159,005 168,797 
			 Drake Hall 97,805 131,383 173,936 192,096 178,060 
			 Durham 478,839 540,007 519,372 483,168 494,220 
			 East Sutton Park 42,661 61,585 71,614 74,388 76,715 
			 Eastwood Park 193,021 211,201 206,855 205,433 213,126 
			 Elmley (includes Standford Hill)(4) 724,085 801,332 837,936 967,922 998,689 
			 Swaleside(4) 382,026 440,847 468,176 454,841 460,363 
			 Erlestoke 177,606 187,226 226,669 274,999 300,452 
			 Everthorpe 251,510 288,070 248,468 311,354 313,184 
			 Exeter 214,407 266,462 286,898 317,483 368,901 
			 Featherstone 307,948 375,798 381,356 353,842 378,468 
			 Feltham 424,329 453,025 589,190 762,472 723,302 
			 Ford 184,839 255,779 312,909 373,048 368,006 
			 Foston Hall 89,249 124,488 126,691 146,842 141,303 
			 Frankland 335,714 493,995 467,318 481,341 433,334 
			 Full Sutton 366,607 433,613 410,061 377,705 386,984 
			 Garth 360,610 385,985 400,771 379,164 396,328 
			 Gartree 230,156 239,312 234,976 255,221 313,647 
			 Glen Parva 424,459 533,061 584,201 556,560 525,080 
			 Gloucester 179,029 214,118 226,645 210,990 205,774 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 261,698 293,645 319,794 365,541 344,525 
			 Guys Marsh 306,519 347,136 369,627 396,431 391,273 
			 Haslar 83,314 114,708 92,952 72,688 78,996 
			 Haverigg 240,636 319,618 324,026 350,960 354,680 
			 High Down 379,857 481,039 512,452 504,814 546,490 
			 Highpoint (Includes Edmunds Hill to 2007) 469,881 532,459 445,635 756,197 683,872 
			 Edmunds Hill(5) — — — — — 
			 Hindley 242,508 318,809 335,283 372,002 330,853 
		
	
	
		
			 Hollesley Bay (includes Warren Hill) 175,607 199,170 251,425 300,039 325,041 
			 Holloway 280,243 306,701 313,181 311,795 399,459 
			 Holme House — — — — — 
			 Hull 320,004 420,911 530,094 723,147 699,072 
			 Huntercombe 220,198 309,402 315,881 341,854 423,960 
			 Kennet(3) — — — — — 
			 Kingston 96,642 111,229 124,521 129,985 105,210 
			 Kirkham 328,414 367,361 380,253 424,606 355,565 
			 Kirklevington 91,291 90,772 96,073 124,064 132,511 
			 Lancaster Castle 93,312 148,127 136,948 141,735 136,506 
			 Lancaster Farms — — — — — 
			 Latchmere House 75,859 80,921 93,983 104,367 90,307 
			 Leeds 719,211 796,859 646,150 721,024 678,304 
			 Leicester 205,317 270,312 266,652 250,685 249,542 
			 Lewes 233,258 287,425 363,904 369,434 402,708 
			 Leyhill 184,884 209,535 236,090 242,104 284,797 
			 Lincoln 230,026 341,294 291,239 253,520 271,998 
			 Lindholme 327,101 498,718 568,620 516,017 496,290 
			 Littlehey 318,973 315,511 338,099 364,915 390,752 
			 Liverpool 685,878 854,666 927,919 1,010,331 929,399 
			 Long Lartin 284,632 302,918 390,050 295,054 308,188 
			 Low Newton 138,336 176,154 180,989 194,149 204,905 
			 Maidstone 304,117 230,995 321,573 348,381 339,869 
			 Manchester 770,064 857,171 868,002 898,208 786,774 
			 Moorland (Closed) 394,644 581,161 554,554 585,907 614,919 
			 Moorland (Open)(6) 75,399 92,639 26,175 25,671 — 
			 Morton Hall 64,133 108,415 152,321 217,147 232,060 
			 Mount 393,708 429,038 447,344 461,778 450,090 
			 New Hall 186,516 268,644 264,584 277,043 273,232 
			 North Sea Camp 110,155 118,896 157,231 174,535 184,658 
			 Northallerton 114,263 127,193 127,014 139,455 129,754 
			 Norwich 361,315 431,555 437,097 415,263 425,872 
			 Nottingham 241,923 365,592 347,511 327,442 309,829 
			 Onley 331,949 429,753 428,802 404,287 440,261 
			 Parkhurst (Includes Camp Hill, Albany)(7) 510,933 752,875 939,035 974,421 1,073,159 
			 Pentonville 608,394 744,260 714,836 759,006 772,115 
			 Portland 298,455 307,531 306,421 292,920 335,071 
			 Preston 292,246 332,376 408,767 509,666 461,721 
			 Ranby 373,088 460,277 496,156 571,391 579,826 
			 Reading — — — — — 
			 Risley 438,074 497,207 582,199 717,018 698,681 
			 Rochester (includes Cookham Wood) 279,792 272,645 268,637 292,490 485,007 
			 Send 117,625 140,537 142,753 155,440 177,362 
			 Shepton Mallet 87,361 100,303 114,674 112,822 122,508 
			 Shrewsbury 162,489 189,926 214,367 211,955 196,244 
			 Stafford 325,019 405,483 404,196 366,362 376,518 
			 Stocken 329,451 382,591 395,989 407,533 411,094 
			 Stoke Heath 279,973 348,659 408,012 491,316 503,991 
			 Styal 269,379 296,277 311,887 333,788 319,454 
			 Sudbury 242,118 296,282 310,087 307,089 305,044 
			 Swansea 179,313 181,735 230,470 227,062 235,531 
			 Swinfen Hall 171,581 244,567 244,074 205,679 293,268 
			 Thorn Cross 131,676 144,311 144,201 152,634 181,996 
			 Usk and Prescoed 148,803 170,391 174,977 219,812 243,817 
			 Verne 323,086 329,891 329,654 324,617 363,737 
			 Wakefield 289,641 349,014 339,003 342,931 301,508 
			 Wandsworth 649,646 785,406 904,576 932,165 865,719 
			 Wayland 321,532 381,193 439,790 493,715 521,735 
			 Wealstun 355,931 388,325 391,235 388,886 502,604 
		
	
	
		
			 Weare(8) 203,312 222,034 246,366 244,330 257,949 
			 Wellingborough 314,896 401,749 386,755 371,388 394,829 
			 Werrington 68,712 81,952 103,048 89,875 96,355 
			 Wetherby 195,760 270,723 266,064 233,676 235,979 
			 Whatton 130,223 160,055 150,293 207,268 207,910 
			 Whitemoor 240,140 264,623 266,993 270,486 274,173 
			 Winchester 308,727 362,330 384,072 420,737 478,778 
			 Woodhill — — — — — 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 499,687 783,746 851,375 927,195 907,351 
			 Wymott 423,005 478,720 511,242 537,471 655,463 
			       
			 Total per year 33,900,093 40,012,896 41,848,039 44,641,058 43,280,288 
		
	
	
		
			 £ 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Acklington 538,168 541,125 644,971 710,701 724,606 
			 Ashwell 388,011 342,599 382,066 499,984 149,586 
			 Askham Grange 62,692 66,153 70,080 88,602 85,479 
			 Aylesbury 297,707 371,228 416,044 373,500 326,084 
			 Bedford 361,087 379,457 356,710 428,593 368,787 
			 Belmarsh 740,683 845,432 728,158 856,604 754,646 
			 Birmingham 987,468 1,015,702 1,057,897 1,197,414 1,162,216 
			 Blakenhurst(1) 712,034 759,739 802,665 — — 
			 Hewell Grange 135,910 160,295 237,447 1,139,479 1,013,615 
			 Brockhill(2) 87,742 90,250 — — — 
			 Blantyre House 66,909 72,717 76,968 100,229 93,245 
			 Blundeston 339,215 360,547 382,894 452,518 399,409 
			 Brinsford 321,877 360,551 334,663 467,770 426,768 
			 Bristol 398,839 418,419 442,364 486,557 478,420 
			 Brixton 478,962 503,258 512,117 550,076 493,444 
			 Buckley Hall 229,798 367,311 337,066 380,292 302,438 
			 Bullingdon 593,342 631,790 638,803 748,497 854,081 
			 Bullwood Hall 112,705 118,760 146,650 171,331 160,326 
			 Bure(3) — — — — 59,294 
			 Canterbury 218,655 233,990 227,571 264,278 236,852 
			 Cardiff 482,674 485,566 491,154 474,441 548,869 
			 Castington 276,609 288,011 342,723 336,942 320,247 
			 Channings Wood 412,824 398,835 525,764 548,454 564,327 
			 Chelmsford 456,466 440,552 579,052 587,071 529,392 
			 Coldingley 296,047 311,969 344,098 359,054 389,165 
			 Dartmoor 419,327 424,356 449,484 525,105 454,563 
			 Deerbolt 282,499 295,430 384,172 390,857 427,523 
			 Dorchester 161,255 188,634 180,633 184,257 203,829 
			 Dover 217,568 225,883 265,942 299,114 264,424 
			 Downview 230,501 265,248 262,295 282,838 279,102 
			 Drake Hall 186,705 237,362 213,543 221,182 192,447 
			 Durham 529,033 670,754 737,290 768,677 765,958 
			 East Sutton Park 75,559 53,348 44,304 85,840 78,411 
			 Eastwood Park 203,335 226,089 246,847 297,517 256,646 
			 Elmley (includes Standford Hill)(4) 1,006,944 972,478 (9)1,416,767 (9)1,631,417 (9)1,723,606 
			 Swaleside(4) 475,985 487,933 (9)— (9)— (9)— 
			 Erlestoke 309,654 328,747 336,260 384,894 341,106 
			 Everthorpe 413,666 464,171 510,934 524,112 537,938 
			 Exeter 365,049 383,227 369,145 361,631 383,798 
			 Featherstone 388,442 416,462 524,392 559,294 540,623 
			 Feltham 622,269 643,267 663,167 725,763 615,398 
			 Ford 335,961 333,380 399,775 483,587 464,497 
			 Foston Hall 160,964 179,768 210,236 217,678 209,527 
			 Frankland 565,160 519,904 514,223 627,865 638,937 
			 Full Sutton 418,533 445,989 453,639 515,521 491,186 
			 Garth 381,532 448,069 473,910 711,827 645,060 
		
	
	
		
			 Gartree 357,922 394,193 534,401 535,703 525,903 
			 Glen Parva 568,945 566,596 692,706 777,744 619,149 
			 Gloucester 211,000 228,701 229,774 226,544 232,802 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 341,306 226,065 396,120 440,938 401,653 
			 Guys Marsh 408,971 421,461 421,410 435,146 467,747 
			 Haslar 91,127 97,673 88,115 110,246 105,960 
			 Haverigg 361,012 393,698 427,617 545,736 492,250 
			 High Down 540,560 538,752 684,021 961,437 912,255 
			 Highpoint (Includes Edmunds Hill to 2007) 745,485 874,858 673,748 719,448 723,248 
			 Edmunds Hill(5) — — 314,136 374,988 290,455 
			 Hindley 287,159 321,311 350,074 398,010 282,919 
			 Hollesley Bay (includes Warren Hill) 325,152 204,650 387,750 518,081 466,746 
			 Holloway 373,113 385,665 407,272 518,822 413,643 
			 Holme House 657,690 633,999 807,774 799,855 842,068 
			 Hull 712,178 695,526 713,336 797,121 723,220 
			 Huntercombe 438,291 387,172 424,502 313,461 266,341 
			 Kennet(3) — — 166,751 275,220 243,107 
			 Kingston 148,265 168,499 154,342 146,547 151,287 
			 Kirkham 435,304 551,878 478,145 577,924 482,301 
			 Kirklevington 136,886 137,799 187,658 232,485 245,291 
			 Lancaster Castle 167,980 205,153 175,647 190,887 184,877 
			 Lancaster Farms 446,168 502,938 430,223 425,703 440,173 
			 Latchmere House 77,786 83,506 80,226 83,945 75,283 
			 Leeds 673,646 676,494 742,992 704,492 848,755 
			 Leicester 246,924 244,356 255,250 294,519 278,621 
			 Lewes 399,868 410,188 802,838 643,566 561,068 
			 Leyhill 324,233 301,659 302,142 331,482 366,037 
			 Lincoln 284,162 285,095 401,175 545,956 494,845 
			 Lindholme 480,407 630,576 786,455 989,334 1,077,271 
			 Littlehey 413,718 422,453 472,482 517,082 521,721 
			 Liverpool 866,640 915,918 1,023,773 1,097,022 1,079,683 
			 Long Lartin 320,785 358,783 336,235 372,781 521,061 
			 Low Newton 202,911 221,134 245,136 308,410 241,438 
			 Maidstone 348,910 393,922 357,424 382,656 474,538 
			 Manchester 889,473 890,605 904,255 979,470 997,616 
			 Moorland (Closed) 642,009 672,194 720,464 755,797 761,533 
			 Moorland (Open)(6) — — — — — 
			 Morton Hall 192,043 219,975 279,765 297,176 266,462 
			 Mount 500,290 527,247 548,683 652,379 579,562 
			 New Hall 256,200 268,832 333,440 360,521 314,486 
			 North Sea Camp 184,394 186,650 184,574 212,339 195,435 
			 Northallerton 136,665 160,583 179,391 189,134 166,328 
			 Norwich 437,165 463,134 416,755 429,309 507,605 
			 Nottingham 365,282 396,661 389,671 397,785 387,278 
			 Onley 412,686 487,355 513,629 551,657 580,563 
			 Parkhurst (Includes Camp Hill, Albany)(7) 1,198,835 1,200,152 1,316,990 1,362,849 1,470,982 
			 Pentonville 765,737 732,855 906,530 929,771 976,889 
			 Portland 317,639 403,517 400,372 499,480 443,338 
			 Preston 464,127 555,685 549,529 596,743 609,257 
			 Ranby 761,116 725,485 807,083 897,180 822,980 
			 Reading 197,627 206,292 217,060 235,563 198,165 
			 Risley 695,090 777,466 850,323 832,540 779,893 
			 Rochester (includes Cookham Wood) 512,744 542,904 497,030 578,454 711,339 
			 Send 178,010 191,883 196,896 277,651 266,802 
			 Shepton Mallet 126,857 130,387 134,214 152,554 123,810 
			 Shrewsbury 186,371 239,606 223,517 238,865 232,648 
			 Stafford 405,301 524,460 476,295 498,210 534,796 
			 Stocken 457,752 414,846 491,447 712,313 641,916 
			 Stoke Heath 499,795 527,022 493,939 541,604 500,190 
		
	
	
		
			 Styal 349,313 340,918 324,149 376,590 345,326 
			 Sudbury 313,502 329,868 332,847 408,507 425,364 
			 Swansea 262,671 285,451 317,814 337,998 338,925 
			 Swinfen Hall 520,333 458,104 528,256 587,570 504,778 
			 Thorn Cross 170,000 192,154 189,082 228,456 220,863 
			 Usk and Prescoed 245,419 236,175 263,189 313,821 313,931 
			 Verne 356,413 378,865 441,275 421,696 401,401 
			 Wakefield 326,421 450,155 551,809 611,638 604,537 
			 Wandsworth 967,727 1,165,695 1,100,808 1,474,419 1,432,051 
			 Wayland 520,384 552,883 641,244 903,037 747,110 
			 Wealstun 573,712 582,577 627,229 506,164 421,787 
			 Weare(8) 50,959 — — — — 
			 Wellingborough 427,375 525,825 560,208 583,900 462,772 
			 Werrington 110,401 119,461 129,244 158,966 112,791 
			 Wetherby 277,294 309,629 301,885 318,682 297,437 
			 Whatton 216,375 462,184 633,803 703,141 674,069 
			 Whitemoor 294,902 326,060 340,481 380,468 411,930 
			 Winchester 515,731 498,481 427,913 587,865 618,987 
			 Woodhill 639,442 583,600 607,226 667,992 688,367 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 919,789 861,361 864,170 1,045,236 1,023,310 
			 Wymott 671,205 723,478 722,965 817,515 834,223 
			       
			 Total per year 48,653,445 51,484,146 55,623,979 62,227,660 59,959,424 
			 (1) Merged with Hewell and Brockhill. (2 )Merged with Hewell Grange to form Hewell Prison. (3 )New Establishment. (4) Elmley, Standford Hill and Swaleside merged to form Sheppey Cluster. (5 )HMP Edmunds Hill split from Highpoint in 2007. (6) Moorland Open merged with Moorland Closed. (7) Parkhurst—Renamed Isle of Wight 2008. (8 )Prison closed. (9) Indicates brace.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to improve the support provided in the criminal justice system to prison officers who have been assaulted by offenders in the course of their duties.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the health and safety of its staff very seriously. Safe systems of work, health and safety assessments, and a violence management information system are in place across the Prison Service estate to ensure that staff work in an environment that is as safe as possible. While NOMS cannot prevent every incident, it takes a zero tolerance approach to assaults of any kind. NOMS is confident that its systems are robust, and that suitable support and training is given to its staff.
	Where staff are affected by violence, NOMS provides access to the Post Incident Care arrangements developed with experience of the operational environment in prisons and following guidelines produced by the National Institute of Clinical Health (NICE) on the Management of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Affected staff have access to critical incident debriefs, workplace support advisers, information on coping strategies, and where appropriate counselling services.
	NOMS has completed a review of its violence reduction strategy which will be published in early 2012. This looks at good practice and how this can be shared effectively in the future. In addition, work is in hand across Government to harmonise contracts for occupational health and employee assistance programmes across the civil service. This will ensure economies of scale whilst ensuring that the civil service meets the best in class employee support provided in the private sector.

Prisons: Private Sector

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what rules govern the recruitment of prison governors by private companies that are interested in bidding to run (a) public sector prisons and (b) a prison at which the individual was previously governor.

Crispin Blunt: The Business Appointment Rules, set out in the Civil Service Management Code, place requirements on all serving civil servants, and on former civil servants for two years after their last day of service, who intend to take an outside appointment or employment after leaving the civil service. Before accepting any new appointment or employment, they must consider whether the rules require them to apply for approval. Serving prison governors, and ones who left the civil service up to two years previously, would be required to apply if their circumstances met one or more of the criteria set out in the rules. Applications from individuals at the level of prison governor are considered by the Department.
	The rules would apply equally in all cases, including where a current or former prison governor was seeking employment, with a private company or to manage a former public sector prison establishment, and including where the individual had previously been the governor of that establishment. The nature of the prospective appointment would, however, be taken into account when determining whether any conditions should be placed on the approval of the application.

Prisons: Private Sector

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements govern the employment of former employees of his Department and its associated agencies by private sector companies that deliver justice services on behalf of the public sector.

Kenneth Clarke: The Business Appointment Rules, set out in the Civil Service Management Code, place requirements on all serving civil servants, and on former civil servants for two years after their last day of service, who intend to take an outside appointment or employment after leaving the civil service. Before accepting any new appointment or employment, they must consider whether the rules require them to apply for approval.

Prostitution: Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance he provides to (a) Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority case officers and (b) members of the First-tier Tribunal on dealing with unspent convictions for soliciting for prostitution in connection with Rule 13(e) of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance.

Jonathan Djanogly: Responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) lies with CICA. Their claims officers interpret the Scheme (which has been approved by Parliament) and take all decisions on individual applications.
	CICA produce internal guidance that helps claims officers take account of all relevant issues in making decisions. I have asked them to place a copy of their guidance relating to unspent convictions for soliciting for prostitution in the parliamentary Library.
	The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), does not provide guidance notes to First-tier Tribunal members because the judiciary are entirely independent of the Government.

Rape: Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance has been given to (a) Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority case officers and (b) members of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) since the Stern review into how rape complaints are handled by public authorities in England and Wales to ensure that applicants in rape cases are not disadvantaged by Rules 13(1)a and b of the Scheme; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Jonathan Djanogly: Responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) lies with CICA. Their claims officers interpret the Scheme (which has been approved by Parliament) and take all decisions on individual applications.
	CICA produce internal guidance that helps claims officers take account of all relevant issues in making decisions.
	I have asked CICA to place a copy of their internal policy guidance on relevant paragraphs in the parliamentary Library. CICA have updated this guidance since the Stem review, most recently on 2 June 2011.
	The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), does not provide training or guidance notes to First-tier Tribunal members because the judiciary are entirely independent of the Government. The tribunal is drawn from a judicial panel appointed by the Lord Chancellor and makes its decision based on the law.

Sexual Offences: Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration is given to any particular difficulties which may be experienced by rape and adult sexual assault victims in (a) reporting offences to the police and (b) giving evidence in court when applying the criteria which are set out in paragraphs 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the guidance for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA compensate blameless victims of violent crime according to the rules Parliament set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme). The paragraphs the hon. Gentleman refers to are in CICA's guide to the compensation scheme, which CICA produce in order to help members of the public apply for compensation. They explain how CICA apply paragraphs 13 (1) (a) and 13 (1) (b) of the Scheme. I have today placed a copy of CICA's internal guidance on these Scheme paragraphs in the parliamentary Library in response to question 82225.

Sexual Offences: Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what specific training is provided to Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and First Tier Tribunal personnel dealing with rape and sexual assault claimants; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any relevant training documentation.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA staff receive guidance to support them in handling all claims, including claims by victims of sexual assault, quickly, fairly, sensitively and courteously. CICA caseworkers receive full training on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the scheme) and its application.
	The training and guidance documentation CICA produce goes through the scheme paragraph by paragraph and mentions sexual assault where appropriate, rather than having an individual section dealing with sexual assault. CICA have advised that their claims officers learn through applying this guidance to real cases with an experienced mentor. I have therefore asked CICA to place all parts of their internal guidance that mention claims arising from sexual offences in the parliamentary Library.
	CICA have advised that, because this guidance is held in an internal database system, it will take CICA around a week to compile it and make it available in a readable format for general use. The guidance is constantly under review and frequently updated, so the material placed in the Library is valid only on the day extraction began—18 November 2011.
	The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), does not provide training or guidance notes to first-tier tribunal members because the judiciary are entirely independent of the Government. The tribunal is drawn from a judicial panel appointed by the Lord Chancellor and makes its decision based on the law. This function is headed by the Social Entitlement Chamber President, thereby ensuring the impartiality of the judiciary.

Sexual Offences: Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority refused (a) at first instance, (b) at review and (c) on appeal claims for compensation by claimants for rape and sexual adult assault compensation where there has not been a complaint to police, a charge brought or a prosecution in the last year for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA do not have figures showing how many people were refused compensation categorised by reference to specific crimes. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme), which was approved by Parliament in 2008, provides for awards to be assessed primarily by reference to criminal injuries. Injury descriptions, from the Scheme's ‘tariff of injuries', are therefore used as the primary basis for calculating and recording payments actually made, and these would only be applied to someone's case if they were assessed as eligible to receive the associated payment.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child: Poverty

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of children living in poverty in each council ward in Warrington North constituency.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	The sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide estimates for small areas such as those requested. However, figures at a regional level for north-west are available. Three survey years have been combined because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable.
	Statistics covering 2007-08 to 2009-10 are the most recent available.
	The following table shows the proportion and number of children living in relative poverty Before Housing Costs (BHC) in the UK, for 2007-08 to 2009-10 in the north-west.
	
		
			 Number and proportion of children living in relative poverty (BHC) in the north-west 
			 Region Number (million) Proportion (percentage) 
			 North-west 0.4 25 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc 2. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost rather than an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are. 5. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 6. The reference period for these HBAI figures is three financial years. 7. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand children. 8. Proportions of children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 9. This measure is defined as: Relative poverty: children living in households with equivalised incomes below 60% of contemporary median household income. 10. The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets three further income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in households with combined low income and material deprivation, absolute low income and persistent poverty. Source: Households Below Average Income 1994-05 to 2009-10, DWP

Disability Living Allowance

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the medical reassessment programme for individuals claiming disability benefits in reducing the number of claimants; and what the change has been in the number of claimants since its inception.

Chris Grayling: The reassessment of old-style incapacity benefits claimants is a key part of the Government's reform agenda to create and deliver a 21st century welfare system by ensuring that those people who can work are given the correct help and support to do so. The reassessment of existing incapacity benefits customers was rolled out nationally from April 2011.
	Incapacity benefit (IB) recipients will undergo a work capability assessment to determine benefit entitlement, and, if eligible, will move to employment and support allowance, which replaced IB for new claims from October 2008. We estimate that about 1.5 million people will go through the IB reassessment process, which is expected to run until 2014.
	More details of the likely impacts of IB reassessment are available in the impact assessment from page 5 of the following link:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/875/pdfs/uksiem_20100875_en.pdf
	There are currently 2.6 million people of working age on employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits. Early estimates suggest that overall the numbers on these benefits have been gradually decreasing. These can be found at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=early_ests
	Notes
	1. The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the number of work capability assessments completed for claimants in receipt of employment and support allowance. The latest report was published in October 2011 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	2. Due to the overall length of the incapacity benefits reassessment process, information on the entire process including the final outcomes and subsequent destinations of claimants being reassessed is not yet available. Individual level data are being collected, but it will take time to complete because of the overall length of the reassessment process. The Department plans to publish data on the outcomes of the reassessment process but only once they have been quality assured and is considered robust.

Employment and Support Allowance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effects of time-limiting of contributory employment and support allowance on health and social care budgets.

Chris Grayling: The Department published an impact assessment of the proposal to time limit contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) to one year for those in the work-related activity group. This is available at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia-revised-apr2011.pdf
	The main effect is an increased eligibility for income-related benefits which are administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The impact assessment also stated that there may be some related impacts for health budgets. For example, those who become eligible for income-related ESA may also be eligible for passported benefits such as free NHS prescriptions. However, the costs of this have not been fully incorporated in the overall costs in the impact assessment due to the uncertainty over the likely take-up of these benefits for the groups affected and variability in the devolved Administrations.

Employment and Support Allowance

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for employment and support allowance (ESA) were refused in the last 12 months; how many had zero points allocated; how many such claims were by cancer patients; how many claimants were recalled for a further medical assessment for ESA eligibility after 12 months; how many such people were again refused; how many of them subsequently appealed; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) using the work capability assessment (WCA) rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
	Table 1 provides details of the number of work capability assessments held between June 2010 and May 2011. The figures are broken down for all initial and all repeat WCAs held.
	A repeat WCA is the second or subsequent WCA undertaken on an existing, continuous ESA claim. These claimants will have already been assessed as having a limited capability for work at their initial WCA and the repeat WCA will assess if their capability for work has changed.
	The table also shows the number of claims that are assessed as being fit for work (FFW) and of these, the number that were awarded zero points. The final column presents the number of claims whose main health condition is cancer related (neoplasms), that were found fit for work and scored zero points at the WCA. The data on health conditions are based on the information recorded on the medical certificate (‘fitnote') provided by a person's GP when they first make a claim for ESA. This represents what their GP considers to be the reason a person cannot work at that time. However, many people applying for ESA will in fact have more than one condition, these conditions may affect each other and may change over time.
	
		
			 Table 1. WCA outcomes for assessments held between June 2010 and May 2011 
			 Initial or repeat WCA Total WCA held Total FFW outcomes Total FFW with zero points Total FFW neoplasms with zero points 
			 Initial 447,500 264,800 202,000 2,000 
			 Repeat 158,100 50,800 35,100 1,600 
			 Total 605,700 315,600 237,100 3,700 
		
	
	Table 2 as follows provides information on the number of completed appeals against a fit for work decision for claims starting between September 2009 and August 2010 (the latest 12 monthly period for which data is available). Again, this has been broken down for all initial and all repeat WCAs held.
	
		
			 Table 2. ESA  Appeals against a FFW decision.  Claims starting between September 2009 and August 2010 
			  Number 
			 Appeal against initial WCA 91,200 
			 Appeal against repeat WCA 6,000 
			 Total 97,200 
			 Notes: 1. The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the employment and support allowance (ESA) work capability assessment at the national level. The latest report, published in October 2011 and can be found here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca 2. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare and appeals data from the Tribunals Service. 3. Data on appeals include ESA claims started from September 2009 up to the end of August 2010 (the latest month where we have sufficient volumes of appeals heard to include in the publication) where the person claiming has been assessed to be Fit for Work, they subsequently appeal the Department's decision and the appeal has been heard by the Tribunals Service. 4. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to the Tribunals Service and heard, it is likely that there are more appeals that have not yet been heard. Therefore these figures should be treated as emerging findings rather than final at this stage. 5. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 and are consistent with the official statistics publication referred to in footnote 1 above.

Employment and Support Allowance: Atos Healthcare

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints about medical assessments for employment and support allowance conducted by Atos Healthcare were recorded in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each year since 2008.

Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare does not record complaints by parliamentary constituency or by a regional area such as Merseyside but by Medical Services Centre (MSC).
	Therefore, data have been provided for Bootle MSC (the MSC responsible for ESA referrals in the St Helens South and Whiston constituency and the Merseyside area) and for the nine MSCs in located in England (Birmingham, Bootle, Bristol, Croydon, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Wembley).
	
		
			 ESA only 
			 Region 2008 2009 2010 2011 (1) 
			 Bootle MSC 0 81 118 136 
			 English MSCs 1 1377 1939 1574 
			 (1) To date.

Employment and Support Allowance: Atos Healthcare

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many medical assessments for employment and support allowance were conducted by Atos Healthcare in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each year since 2008.

Chris Grayling: Decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) using the work capability assessment (WCA) rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
	The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the number of work capability assessments (WCAs) completed for claimants in receipt of ESA. The latest report was published in October 2011 and presents completed assessments to May 11 (which are the latest data available). The report and tables can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	(a) Information on the number of WCAs completed for St Helens South and Whiston constituency is unavailable so data for Knowsley and St Helens local authorities have been provided in tables 1and 2. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred and as a result may not sum to the totals shown.
	
		
			 Table 1: Completed assessments in Knowsley 
			  Initial assessments Repeat assessments Total 
			 2008 (from October) 0 0 0 
			 2009 1,300 0 1,300 
			 2010 2,100 400 2,500 
			 2011 (to May) 600 300 1,000 
			 Total 4,000 800 4,800 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Completed assessments in St Helens 
			  Initial assessments Repeat assessments Total 
			 2008 (from October) 0 0 0 
			 2009 1,300 0 1,300 
			 2010 2,000 400 2,400 
			 2011 (to May) 600 300 1,000 
			 Total 3,900 800 4,700 
		
	
	(b) The number of completed assessments in Merseyside is shown in table 3. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred and as a result may not sum to the totals shown.
	
		
			 Table 3: Completed assessments in Merseyside 
			  Initial assessments Repeat assessments Total 
			 2008 (from October) 0 0 0 
			 2009 10,000 200 10,100 
			 2010 14,900 2,600 17,500 
			 2011 (to May) 5,800 2,500 8,300 
			 Total 30,700 5,300 36,000 
		
	
	(c) The number of completed assessments in England is shown in table 4. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred and as a result may not sum to the totals shown.
	
		
			 Table 4: Completed assessments in England 
			  Initial assessments Repeat assessments Total 
			 2008 (from October) 700 0 700 
			 2009 243,100 4,100 247,100 
			 2010 355,800 79,300 435,100 
			 2011 (to May) 149,200 70,200 219,500 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 748,800 153,700 902,400 
			 Notes: 1. Employment and support allowance was introduced in October 2008 therefore most figures for 2008 are small and may round to zero. 2. The latest data available are for May 2011 so a partial year is presented for 2011. 3. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare. 4. Merseyside includes Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral local authority areas.

Employment Schemes

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will investigate reports that prime contractors to the Work programme are referring clients to volunteer centres without making payments to those centres; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The DWP holds contracts with prime providers; we do not therefore get involved in the arrangements between prime providers and other organisations. Those terms are a matter for the interested parties to agree.
	While the DWP encourages Work programme providers to forge strategic relationships with local partners, providers and their subcontractors should not be approaching voluntary organisations if they do not have an agreement with them.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he would intervene in a reported breach of contract between a Work Programme prime provider and one of its subcontractors without first receiving a complaint from the subcontractor.

Chris Grayling: The Department expects subcontractors and prime providers to work together to resolve any issues as this is a commercial matter for the parties involved. We are committed to supporting healthy business relationships between prime providers and their subcontractors. The Merlin standard allows for independent mediation should the prime provider's internal complaints procedure fail to reach settlement.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the data on referrals to the Work programme to be published in April 2012 will be provided at the level of individual Tier 1 and Tier 2 subcontractors.

Chris Grayling: Work programme Official Statistics for referrals will be published in the quarterly statistical summary in Spring 2012. Details of the lower level geography information that will be published are yet to be decided, however we hope to be able to release figures by local authority, parliamentary constituency and contract package area as well as a standard set of demographic breakdowns. There are no plans to publish below prime contractor level.

European Union

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department are working on the Government's examination of the balance of existing European Union competences.

Chris Grayling: The examination of these issues draws on existing resources in the Department for Work and Pensions.

European Union

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Ministerial-level meetings have been held in his Department as part of the Government's examination of the balance of existing European Union competences.

Chris Grayling: The Department routinely holds ministerial meetings on issues covered in the coalition agreement.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on predicted savings to the public purse from restrictions on housing benefit based on size criteria of exempting households with a disabled child.

Steve Webb: Of the estimated 670,000 working-age households in receipt of housing benefit and likely to be affected when the social sector size criteria is introduced in 2013-14, around 20,000 households would be likely to include a disabled child.
	Exempting these households from the size criteria would reduce anticipated savings in housing benefit expenditure by around £15 million in 2013-14.
	The estimate of 20,000 affected households includes cases where disability living allowance is received by, or in respect, of a dependent child, (regardless of whether it relates to care or mobility, or the rate at which it is paid); or where a child has been registered as blind. Alternative definitions of disability would be likely to produce differing estimates.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on predicted savings to the public purse of exempting the first underoccupied bedroom from the size criteria for housing benefit.

Steve Webb: Exempting the first underoccupied bedroom for housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector would reduce the numbers likely to be affected by the size criteria in 2013-14 from approximately 670,000 working-age households, to around 150,000.
	The effect of this would be to reduce anticipated savings in housing benefit expenditure by more than £350 million in 2013-14.

Incapacity Benefit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who will (a) lose incapacity benefit and (b) lose all benefits in (i) Easington constituency and (ii) the North East as a consequence of his proposed changes to the benefits system.

Chris Grayling: No such estimate has been made.
	The impacts of the proposed changes to the benefit system as set out in the Welfare Reform Bill are available in the associated impact assessments at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare%2Dreform/legislation%2Dand%2Dkey%2Ddocuments/welfare%2Dreform%2Dbill%2D2011/impact%2Dassessments%2Dand%2Dequality/
	The impacts of these proposals have been calculated at an aggregate, Great Britain, level and cannot be reliably broken down for smaller geographical areas.
	The main forthcoming change to incapacity benefits is the proposal to time limit contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) to one year for those in the Work Related Activity Group. This is expected to affect around 700,000 people by 2015/16, of which around 60% are expected to be fully or partially compensated by income-related ESA, so will retain entitlement to ESA.
	The remaining 40% are not expected to qualify for income-related ESA because they have other income, including that from a partner. These people will no longer receive ESA benefit payments, but will be able to retain National Insurance credits by becoming an ESA credits-only claimant. They may also see increases in other benefits such as tax credits and housing benefit.

Incapacity Benefit: Jobseeker’s Allowance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the likely change in the number of (i) incapacity benefit claimants and (ii) those in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and (b) the number of people who will cease to receive benefit while not in employment (A) in each local authority area and (B) of each gender by 2014.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The available information is in the table:
	
		
			 Great Britain (total claimants) 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013 - 14 Change 2010 - 11 to 2013 - 14 
			 (i) Incapacity benefit (thousand) 1,024 771 407 91 -933 
			 (ii) Jobseeker's allowance (thousands) 1,302 1,375 1,342 1,243 -59 
		
	
	(b) The information requested is not available. Projections for the numbers of people receiving benefits are not produced by employment status or below Great Britain level. Forecasts for Great Britain to 2015 can be found on the DWP's website at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
	Note
	The Department's forecasts for the numbers of people receiving benefits were published following the Office of Budget Responsibility's March Budget 2011 forecast, as set out in Table C1. An update to those forecasts will be published on 21 December 2011 following the Office for Budget Responsibility's publication of their autumn forecasts on 29 November 2011.
	Source
	Budget 2011 forecasts and DWP statistical data

Railways: Employment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to estimate the (a) number, (b) type and (c) duration of jobs created by the (i) Intercity Express Programme and (ii) Thameslink Rolling Stock Programme.

Theresa Villiers: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 November 2011, Official Report, column 771W.

Jobcentre Plus

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus has employed staff to visit other EU countries to offer advice to EU nationals considering applying for jobs in the UK since its inception.

Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus employs 12 staff who specialise in giving advice to jobseekers looking for work in another EU member state. This is part of our commitment to the network of public employment services in Europe called EURES. EURES—the European Employment Services network—was established in 1994 by the European Commission to facilitate the free movement of workers within the EU. Jobcentre Plus EURES advisers organise job fairs for UK jobseekers wanting to work in Europe and attend job fairs in other EU countries to inform EU nationals about the UK labour market. Their advice is centred on deterring unplanned migration to the UK and discouraging applications to sectors where there is already intense competition and high unemployment.
	The legal base for EURES dates back to Commission Decision 93/569/EEC of 22 October 1993 on the implementing of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community as regards, in particular, the establishment of the EURES network.
	Jobcentre Plus has by far the least number of EURES advisers per capita of all the participating countries (12 compared to 100 in both France and Germany). There are more than 800 EURES advisers in the European public employment services. In the UK team, as well as the 12 EURES advisers there are six other staff members whose responsibilities cover a wide range of duties. In total, those staff who work on EURES related work are:
	2 Band Es—EURES manager, EURES delivery manager,
	2 Band Ds—EURES adviser line manager, EURES co-ordinator,
	1 Band C—Budget co-ordinator and 1 Band C—Communications co-ordinator
	12 Band C—EURES advisers (11 in post, one vacant)
	All Jobcentre Plus travel costs, subsistence and other operational costs for EURES activities are reimbursed by the European Commission through an annual grant agreement with DWP (annual value of €350,000).
	Jobcentre Plus exchanges vacancies with other EU countries through the EURES website:
	www.eures.europa.eu
	From July to November 2011 Jobcentre Plus EURES advisers attended 35 job fairs in 19 EU/EEA countries (France: five; Italy: four; Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Norway: three; Poland: two; Ireland, Netherlands, Estonia, Malta, Iceland, Portugal, Czech republic, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Austria, Slovenia: one).

Personal Records: Departmental Co-ordination

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations about the Tell Us Once service with particular reference to whether they can participate.

Chris Grayling: The Tell Us Once programme has worked very closely with officials from the devolved Administration in Scotland, initially to support the introduction of TUO there, and have consulted with and kept them informed throughout all stages of the piloting and implementation. A letter was sent to MSPs on 14 November advising them of the national rollout of TUO in Scotland. To date 13 local authorities (40.6%) are live with TUO, 29 (90.6%) of LAs have agreed to deliver the service with only three LAs remaining undecided on whether to offer the service.
	In Wales the Tell Us Once programme has worked closely with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, initially to support the take up of the Tell Us Once service among unitary authorities in Wales and more recently to keep them informed of the progress that has been made in the delivery of the service across all 22 Welsh local authorities.
	My officials have been engaged with officials in Northern Ireland to discuss how the TUO service may be made available there in future. This level of engagement will continue and further consultations will take place once the service has been implemented across England, Wales and Scotland.

Remploy

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in St Helens South and Whiston constituency Remploy employment services has assisted to find (a) part-time and (b) full-time employment lasting more than (i) three months, (ii) six months and (iii) a year in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: The information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			  PT FT PT FT PT FT PT FT PT FT 
			 Over three months — 1 — 2 — 6 3 — 7 7 
			 Over six months — — — — — 3 — 3 9 10 
			 Over 12 months 3 10 1 10 3 20 8 4 1 7 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 3 11 1 12 3 29 11 7 17 24 
			 PT = part-time FT = full-time Note: Between 2006-07 and 2010-11 Remploy assisted 73 people into employment of less than three months. Source: Remploy

Social Exclusion

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology his Department uses to estimate the number of people experiencing social exclusion; and whether this methodology has changed since May 2010.

Chris Grayling: Social exclusion is a multi-faceted concept. Departmental analysts use a variety of methodological techniques, as appropriate, to analyse survey and administrative data relevant to social exclusion

Social Exclusion

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Work programme on tackling social exclusion.

Chris Grayling: It will be some time yet before it is possible to assess the performance of the Work programme in getting people back to work. As participation lasts for two years, we expect to see substantial indications of the success of the Work programme from spring 2013. A full independent evaluation has been commissioned for that year and I look forward to sharing the results with the House in due course. We will closely monitor the effectiveness of the programme in the interim.

Social Exclusion

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the risk of people aged 16 to 24 claiming jobseeker's allowance experiencing long-term cycles of deprivation.

Chris Grayling: There is a risk that an extended period of unemployment when young can impact on later earnings potential, increase the probability of a future spell out of work, or have a wider detrimental effect on health and well-being.
	As a result the Government's policies focus on keeping young people active in their job search and helping them to engage in real work with employers. This is supported by access to work experience opportunities and referrals to apprenticeships and sector-based work academies.
	This ensures that most young people flow off jobseeker's allowance quickly. Of the around 125,000 16 to 24-year-olds currently joining JSA each month, 60% leave within the first three months and 80% within six months. Those who need more intensive support or who become long-term unemployed are referred to the Work programme at three or nine months.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the costs have been of administration of (a) disability living allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) employment and support allowance for each of the last three years.

Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Direct staff administration costs 
			 £ million 
			  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Disability living allowance 55.7 55.3 49.9 
			 Incapacity benefit 81.3 57.7 29.7 
			 Employment support allowance 19.1 95.6 90.6 
			 Source: Activity Based Management system 
		
	
	Figures shown cover the last three financial years for which final audited accounts are available. Costs are the total administration costs including the cost of appeals. Existing incapacity benefit claimants began migrating to employment support allowance in the latter half of 2009/10.

Social Security Benefits

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what average period a claimant of (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance was claiming the allowance in the financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Chris Grayling: When asked for average duration, our normal practice is to provide a distribution of length of current claims (caseload) or completed claims (off-flows). This is more informative than a single summary figure, as it provides information on how varied the lengths of the claims are as well as the length of a typical claim.
	Table 1 shows the average (median) duration for jobseeker's allowance off-flows—the median is the standard measure for average duration.
	Table 2 shows employment and support allowance off-flows by duration. Some development work has taken place on calculation of average (median) durations for benefits other than JSA but further development needs to be undertaken on better understanding the robustness and interpretation of the results.
	
		
			 Table 1: Jobseeker's allowance median duration of off-flows in Great Britain for each year shown 
			 Date Total off-flows Median duration (weeks) 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 (inclusive) 3,846,130 10.9 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 (inclusive) 3,823,050 11.4 
			 Notes: 1. Off-flows have been rounded to the nearest 10, duration to one decimal place. 2. Data are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk Source: 100% Count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Employment and support allowance off-flows in Great Britain by duration of claim: May 2009 to February 2011 
			 Date Total Up to three months Three to six months Six months up to one year One year up to two years Two years and over 
			 May 2009 50,490 24,020 24,860 1,610 * * 
			 August 2009 80,450 26,460 36,590 17,410 * * 
			 November 2009 109,670 30,770 41,470 36,620 810 * 
			 February 2010 102,790 25,620 35,300 35,160 6,720 * 
			 May 2010 118,610 30,760 38,120 35,970 13,770 * 
			 August 2010 131,180 32,010 42,660 34,930 21,580 * 
			 November 2010 135,020 33,700 42,620 35,330 23,180 200 
			 February 2011 123,120 28,340 41,200 31,340 20,170 2,050 
			 "*" = Denotes nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 4. Off-flows are total number of spells on ESA that ended within the quarter. A person may flow on and off the same benefit more than once during a quarter. 5. Data are published at: http://83.244.183.180/flows/flows_off/esa/tabtool_esa.html Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100%

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants have had their benefits stopped because of failure to respond to Benefits Integrity Centre telephone spot checks in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many complaints in each complaint category his Department has received concerning these checks.

Chris Grayling: Following a review of entitlement by a Benefit Integrity Centre, 16,317 claims have been closed in the period 1 April 2011 to 31 October 2011. This figure includes claims that have been closed due to claimants failing to respond to requests for information, and claims where a decision has been made that there is no longer an entitlement to benefit after reviewing the claim. Claims closure data are not kept by category.
	In total, 97 written inquiries and complaints have been received by Benefit Integrity Centres in the period but these data are not kept by category.

Unemployment: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the unemployment rate was in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Grayling: Northern Ireland has had a separate social security system and a separate national insurance fund for many years and is responsible for its own employment policy.
	The request for this information should, therefore, be addressed to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Unemployment: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people of working age were on unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Grayling: Northern Ireland has had a separate social security system and a separate national insurance fund for many years.
	The request for this information should, therefore, be addressed to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition he plans to use of “in work” when setting the universal credit household benefit cap.

Chris Grayling: We are introducing the benefit cap to promote fairness between those in and out of work and to increase incentives for people to move into work or increase their hours of employment. In support of these objectives, households which contain a member who is eligible for working tax credit will be exempt from the cap. We are still considering the precise criteria for a corresponding exemption under universal credit.

Welfare Reform: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects of his welfare reform proposals in Northern Ireland.

Chris Grayling: Northern Ireland has had a separate social security system and a separate National Insurance Fund for many years. Responsibility for social security, child support and pensions in Northern Ireland rests with its Department for Social Development. It is, therefore, a matter for the Minister for Social Development to arrange for any assessment of the possible effects of the welfare reform proposals in Northern Ireland.

Welfare Reform: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential effects of his planned welfare reform proposals.

Chris Grayling: Responsibility for Social Security in Northern Ireland rests with the Northern Ireland Executive. However, as required under Section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act, the Department of Work and Pensions keeps in regular contact with the Northern Ireland Executive on the subject of welfare reform at both ministerial and official levels.
	This includes recent trips to Northern Ireland by both the Minister for Disabled People, the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), and my noble Friend the Lord Freud. These trips included meetings with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive. Officials also meet regularly.

Work Capability Assessment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to people undertaking a work capability assessment who suffer from medical conditions that fluctuate.

Chris Grayling: The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) has been specifically designed to give people with conditions which fluctuate the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time. The questionnaire that customers are sent has been redesigned so that people are directly asked if their mental or physical functions vary, and asked to give more details of how this affects them as an individual.
	The health care professionals who carry out the WCA are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation. The assessment is not a snapshot. If a person cannot carry out a function repeatedly and reliably they will be treated as unable to carry out that function at all.
	The activities and descriptors used in the assessment were developed in consultation with medical experts and representative groups to ensure that they are appropriate for all conditions. The consultation involved considerable discussion about the variability of some conditions and we have now made some changes in this area.
	We are committed to continuous improvement of the WCA to ensure the assessment is as fair and accurate as possible. Professor Malcolm Harrington, a highly respected occupational physician, is due shortly to publish his second independent review of the WCA. Recognising that particular concerns have been raised about the way the WCA works for people with fluctuating conditions, Professor Harrington asked leading charities, including the MS Society, to make recommendations to refine the descriptors used in the WCA as part of this review.
	We look forward to publishing Professor Harrington's recommendations.

Work Capability Assessment: Multiple Sclerosis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to having only medical practitioners who are specialists in multiple sclerosis carrying out work capability assessments for sufferers of the disease.

Chris Grayling: The contract between the DWP and Atos Healthcare requires that face-to-face WCA assessment of claimants with multiple sclerosis must be carried out by a doctor.
	There is, however, no requirement for Atos to employ specialist doctors to conduct assessments because entitlement to benefit is based upon the functional impairment associated with the underlying medical condition, rather than the nature of the medical condition itself.
	For this reason all doctors who carry out assessments for benefit purposes are trained in disability assessment medicine and this includes assessment of people with multiple sclerosis.
	All doctors working for Atos are provided with an evidence based protocol on multiple sclerosis as part of their initial training. In addition, there is learning set on multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease available to all doctors as part of Atos’ continuing medical education programme.

HOME DEPARTMENT

2010 Drugs Strategy

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has set terms of reference for the annual review of the 2010 Drugs Strategy; and whether she plans to publish the findings of the review.

James Brokenshire: The Government's Drug Strategy “Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to Live a Drug Free Life”, published in December 2010, included a commitment to an annual review. This will review the strategy and provide a status update on the first full year of implementation. We are aiming to publish by the end of March 2012.

Asylum

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many legacy asylum cases concerned people resident in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency in each year since March 2007; and how many such asylum seekers received support from the National Asylum Support Service.

Damian Green: Information is not held in relation to the specific date that individuals move to certain areas. We have therefore provided figures for the number of legacy asylum cases based on the applicant's last known address with postcodes in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. The total number of people with legacy asylum cases who are resident in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency is 40.
	The National Asylum Support Service has not provided support to any asylum seekers within the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.
	Source:
	Local Management information provided by the UK Border Agency, North West Region Planning and MI team. It is not a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Asylum: Libya

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on Libyans stranded in refugee camps who wish to claim asylum in the UK.

Damian Green: As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UK fully considers all asylum applications lodged in the UK. However, the UK's international obligations under the convention do not extend to the consideration of asylum applications lodged abroad and there is no provision in our immigration rules for someone overseas to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum.

Bolivia: Drugs

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home 
	(1)  Department what assessment she has made of the effect on the maintenance of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of (a) Bolivia re-acceding to the Convention with a reservation on coca leaf and (b) Bolivia's re-accession being denied due to their requirement of a reservation on coca leaf;
	(2)  if she will take into account (a) the right of Bolivia to make use of article 14 of the 1988 UN Convention on Drug Trafficking stating that signatories shall take due account of traditional licit uses, where there is historic evidence of such use and (b) Bolivia's need to adhere to its constitution and the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in her response to the Bolivian application for re-accession to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs with a reservation on coca leaf.

James Brokenshire: The Government are currently considering how to respond to Bolivia's withdrawal from and forthcoming reapplication to the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, and in doing so are taking into account all relevant international agreements, including the UN convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People 2007, as well as the Bolivian Constitution. The Government are also assessing the effect of all possible outcomes on the maintenance of the convention.

British Nationality

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the citizenship data tables Immigration Statistics April-June 2011 table cz.09, refusals of citizenship by reason, how many refusals were due to the applicant being not of good character as a result of committing a criminal offence in the UK.

Damian Green: The available statistics are given in the following table. It is not possible to separately identify refusals of British citizenship due to a criminal conviction within the published figures before December 2007 when a specific code for this outcome was introduced to the UK Border Agency Case Information Database.
	
		
			 Refusals of British citizenship by selected reason 
			 Year of refusal Not of good character—criminal conviction Total refusals and withdrawals 
			 2002 n/a 8,331 
			 2003 n/a 10,555 
			 2004 n/a 13,818 
			 2005 n/a 16,642 
			 2006 n/a 15,309 
		
	
	
		
			 2007 7 15,628 
			 2008 1,397 9,086 
			 2009 1,515 10,251 
			 2010 1,185 7,974 
			 n/a = Not available. Notes: 1. Derived from table cz.09 published in ‘Immigration Statistics—April to June 2011’. 2. Data for 2010 are provisional figures. 3. Data presented relate to number of persons. 4. Cases dealt with in the United Kingdom. Source: Migration Statistics 
		
	
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics on persons refused British citizenship, from which the data in this reply are derived, are given in table ‘cz.09' of the statistical release ‘Immigration Statistics April-June 2011'. This publication is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2011/

British Nationality

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  with reference to the citizenship data tables Immigration Statistics April-June 2011 table cz.09, refusals of citizenship by reason, how many applicants not of good character were subsequently removed from the UK;
	(2)  with reference to the citizenship data tables Immigration Statistics April-June 2011 table cz.01, citizenship applications, grants and refusals, how many (a) applicants for British citizenship and (b) successful applicants for British citizenship were individuals who originally came to the UK as an asylum seeker in each of the last five years.
	(3)  with reference to the citizenship data tables Immigration Statistics April-June 2011, table cz.01 citizenship applications, grants and refusals, how many (a) applicants and (b) successful applicants for British citizenship were from individuals who had spent a period of time illegally residing in the UK in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a substantial data—matching exercise which would exceed the cost threshold.

British Nationality

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the citizenship data tables Immigration Statistics April-June 2011, table cz.01 citizenship applications, grants and refusals, how many (a) applicants and (b) successful applicants for British citizenship were from each country of origin or birth in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following tables provide information relating to the country of birth for the applications for British citizenship and those successful, for the last five years:
	
		
			 Applications received for British citizenship and successful applications by country of origin or birth 2006-10 
			  Applications received 
			 Country of origin or birth 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 
			 Aden 9 12 4 2 5 32 
			 Afghanistan 5,321 9,259 4,950 4,151 4,894 28,575 
			 Albania 777 871 1,142 1,255 1,300 5,345 
			 Algeria 802 1,008 995 1,064 1,496 5,365 
			 American Samoa — — — 1 — 1 
			 Andorra 1 — — 1 — 2 
			 Angola 726 893 1,105 716 617 4,057 
			 Anguilla 26 14 9 4 8 61 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 18 20 20 21 9 88 
			 Argentina 135 120 158 201 158 772 
			 Armenia 106 110 67 102 71 456 
			 Aruba — 2 — 2 — 4 
			 Australia 2,840 2,277 2,029 2,188 2,196 11,530 
			 Austria 27 28 32 28 33 148 
			 Awaiting country to be added to list — — 1 — — 1 
			 Azerbaijan 159 188 181 144 131 803 
			 Bahamas 17 13 21 18 22 91 
			 Bahrain 79 59 67 127 87 419 
			 Bangladesh 1,329 2,677 5,247 11,372 7,504 28,129 
			 Barbados 136 107 105 86 60 494 
			 Belarus 151 156 185 259 241 992 
			 Belgium 66 61 37 42 71 277 
			 Belize 17 16 15 14 11 73 
			 Benin 16 16 19 13 25 89 
			 Bermuda 2 3 1 2 3 11 
			 Bhutan 25 25 32 25 20 127 
			 Bolivia 46 73 90 87 61 357 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 200 184 118 147 112 761 
			 Botswana 25 39 41 68 72 245 
			 Brazil 450 593 726 849 1,015 3,633 
			 British Guiana 1 1 — — — 2 
			 British Virgin Islands 15 11 12 1 5 44 
			 Brunei 63 40 57 54 112 326 
			 Bulgaria 490 952 939 1,744 1,761 5,886 
			 Burkina Faso 5 4 10 6 16 41 
			 Burma 15 17 14 22 11 79 
			 Burundi 449 533 532 362 278 2,154 
			 Byelorussian SSR — — — — — 0 
			 Cambodia 1 6 12 17 19 55 
			 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 14 16 9 10 16 65 
			 Cameroon 329 420 414 419 458 2,040 
			 Canada 1,090 915 758 868 843 4,474 
			 Cape Verde 3 4 3 4 6 20 
			 Cayman Islands 32 23 14 11 12 92 
			 Central African Republic 5 7 2 3 3 20 
			 Ceylon — 1 — — — 1 
			 Chad 44 23 24 23 15 129 
			 Chile 89 73 103 93 74 432 
			 China 1,716 2,527 2,959 4,956 5,507 17,665 
			 Colombia 804 1,436 1,148 887 841 5,116 
			 Comoros 2 1 2 1 1 7 
			 Congo 323 312 222 252 256 1,365 
			 Congo (Brazzaville) 13 16 11 11 8 59 
		
	
	
		
			 Cook Islands 1 — 1 1 — 3 
			 Costa Rica 15 12 17 11 12 67 
			 Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 247 346 333 335 400 1,661 
			 Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 5 9 4 4 12 34 
			 Croatia 296 287 168 187 135 1,073 
			 Cuba 88 93 95 100 108 484 
			 Cyprus 153 142 104 131 139 669 
			 Czechoslovakia 2 5 1 5 7 20 
			 Czech Republic 78 73 46 63 99 359 
			 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 3 1 3 8 16 31 
			 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,281 1,579 1,526 1,622 1,778 7,786 
			 Denmark 32 34 31 21 45 163 
			 Djibouti 9 12 14 12 22 69 
			 Dominica 56 58 68 47 55 284 
			 Dominican Republic 48 54 60 82 68 312 
			 Dutch East Indies — — 1 — — 1 
			 East Timor — 3 1 3 — 7 
			 Ecuador 350 651 608 453 426 2,488 
			 Egypt 618 552 516 751 917 3,354 
			 El Salvador 9 8 20 13 12 62 
			 Equatorial Guinea 4 3 10 4 4 25 
			 Eritrea 460 564 559 568 816 2,967 
			 Estonia 55 47 25 28 54 209 
			 Ethiopia 798 974 780 738 832 4,122 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 4,620 1,650 108 37 16 6,431 
			 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland — — — 1 — 1 
			 Fiji 35 90 97 77 102 401 
			 Finland 31 32 33 37 30 163 
			 France 289 306 251 283 319 1,448 
			 French Guiana 2 3 1 6 2 14 
			 French Polynesia — 1 — — — 1 
			 Gabon 7 13 5 10 11 46 
			 Gambia 253 365 369 504 503 1,994 
			 Georgia 152 133 128 171 148 732 
			 German Democratic Republic 2 1 1 1 — 5 
			 Germany 374 413 377 406 446 2,016 
			 Ghana 1,886 2,802 3,055 3,781 3,712 15,236 
			 Gibraltar 17 21 17 16 15 86 
			 Gilbert Islands — — — 1 — 1 
			 Goa — — 2 1 — 3 
			 Greece 109 218 159 159 178 823 
			 Greenland — — — 1 — 1 
			 Grenada 51 67 56 63 67 304 
			 Guadeloupe 3 2 2 3 4 14 
			 Guam — — — — 1 1 
			 Guatemala 19 22 26 20 11 98 
			 Guinea 34 75 88 95 97 389 
			 Guinea-Bissau 5 10 11 20 21 67 
		
	
	
		
			 Guyana 234 260 261 322 435 1,512 
			 Haiti 11 6 8 7 1 33 
			 Honduras 19 26 13 14 29 101 
			 Hong Kong 485 656 743 1,922 2,287 6,093 
			 Hungary 96 89 52 83 236 556 
			 Iceland 2 5 1 11 7 26 
			 India 9,423 12,726 13,594 22,023 25,334 83,100 
			 Indonesia 136 166 136 192 186 816 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 3,324 3,457 2,616 2,655 2,731 14,783 
			 Iraq 5,217 5,068 9,158 4,592 4,854 28,889 
			 Ireland 224 195 100 126 142 787 
			 Israel 375 386 360 425 386 1,932 
			 Israeli Occupied Territories 9 — 4 — — 13 
			 Italy 197 204 162 179 216 958 
			 Jamaica 2,280 3,226 2,944 2,736 2,566 13,752 
			 Japan 130 150 142 172 146 740 
			 Jordan 265 128 126 180 140 839 
			 Kazakhstan 112 108 128 122 133 603 
			 Kenya 2,776 2,386 1,933 2,194 1,999 11,288 
			 Kiribati 1 — 1 — 3 5 
			 Korea 19 17 8 18 11 73 
			 Kosovo 437 292 621 1,195 1,262 3,807 
			 Kosovo 322 164 676 161 95 1,418 
			 Kuwait 354 255 255 346 321 1,531 
			 Kyrgyzstan 46 63 55 59 36 259 
			 Lao People's Democratic Republic 6 7 10 17 14 54 
			 Latvia 73 72 46 54 139 384 
			 Lebanon 646 489 476 613 656 2,880 
			 Lesotho 12 19 19 21 30 101 
			 Liberia 176 182 178 160 178 874 
			 Libya 90 61 44 41 36 272 
			 Libya (Arab Republic) 202 286 270 374 308 1,440 
			 Libyan Arab Republic — — — 1 — 1 
			 Liechtenstein 1 — — 1 — 2 
			 Lithuania 110 109 65 106 206 596 
			 Luxembourg 2 5 3 5 3 18 
			 Macao Special Administrative Region of China 11 21 8 10 9 59 
			 Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of) 158 190 167 167 149 831 
			 Madagascar 10 19 13 13 16 71 
			 Malawi 162 231 203 247 300 1,143 
			 Malaya 2 1 1 — — 4 
			 Malaysia 408 595 745 966 964 3,678 
			 Maldives 1 3 2 8 4 18 
			 Mali 9 5 7 8 12 41 
			 Malta 44 23 19 16 26 128 
			 Marshall Islands — — 1 — — 1 
			 Martinique 1 1 2 1 3 8 
			 Mauritania 1 5 3 8 2 19 
			 Mauritius 568 801 684 928 829 3,810 
			 Mayotte — — 1 — — 1 
			 Mexico 131 119 146 225 228 849 
		
	
	
		
			 Moldova, Republic of 96 104 114 127 141 582 
			 Monaco 1 — — 2 7 10 
			 Mongolia 31 54 68 60 65 278 
			 Montenegro 28 6 2 15 1 52 
			 Montserrat 4 1 1 2 6 14 
			 Morocco 426 539 608 640 733 2,946 
			 Mozambique 49 70 80 84 71 354 
			 Myanmar 139 162 167 199 222 889 
			 Namibia 63 72 58 90 62 345 
			 Nationality currently unknown 1 — — — — 1 
			 Nepal 825 863 975 1,424 2,294 6,381 
			 Netherlands 71 102 66 75 100 414 
			 Netherlands Antilles 2 2 1 3 1 9 
			 New Caledonia — 1 — — — 1 
			 New Zealand 1,315 1,182 1,051 1,140 1,194 5,882 
			 Nicaragua 12 5 13 13 12 55 
			 Niger 6 5 3 8 6 28 
			 Nigeria 4,272 5,077 4,887 5,742 6,896 26,874 
			 Niue — — — 1 — 1 
			 Northern Mariana Islands 1 — — — 1 2 
			 Northern Rhodesia — — — 2 2 4 
			 Norway 27 17 18 19 20 101 
			 Nyasaland 1 1 — — 1 3 
			 Oman 32 26 48 75 84 265 
			 Pakistan 6,401 9,296 11,953 18,184 20,834 66,668 
			 Palestinian Authority 88 71 109 200 174 642 
			 Panama 10 10 32 15 20 87 
			 Panama Canal Zone — — — — 1 1 
			 Papua New Guinea 20 22 15 19 21 97 
			 Paraguay 9 2 7 11 7 36 
			 Peru 137 177 201 198 230 943 
			 Philippines 7,202 8,590 6,258 9,465 8,260 39,775 
			 Poland 385 474 279 489 1,351 2,978 
			 Portugal 128 98 92 115 104 537 
			 Puerto Rico — 1 4 7 3 15 
			 Qatar 24 28 16 40 28 136 
			 Republic of Montenegro 12 6 35 41 28 122 
			 Republic of Serbia 187 358 396 349 285 1,575 
			 Reunion 3 1 — 1 3 8 
			 Rhodesia 32 29 28 27 15 131 
			 Romania 3 4 6 783 786 1,582 
			 Romania 510 461 403 112 123 1,609 
			 Russian Federation 1,544 1,487 1,393 1,517 1,610 7,551 
			 Rwanda 536 549 386 281 223 1,975 
			 Samoa 3 3 2 4 5 17 
			 Sao Tome and Principe 3 1 — 1 1 6 
			 Saudi Arabia 511 426 398 731 832 2,898 
			 Senegal 31 34 37 48 64 214 
		
	
	
		
			 Serbia and Montenegro 140 150 5 4 5 304 
			 Seychelles 58 60 56 70 45 289 
			 Sierra Leone 1,359 1,701 1,220 945 901 6,126 
			 Singapore 127 124 160 184 167 762 
			 Slovakia 119 100 56 75 176 526 
			 Slovenia 6 10 2 6 9 33 
			 Solomon Islands — 1 1 8 2 12 
			 Somalia 8,179 6,429 7,430 6,301 5,327 33,666 
			 South Africa 6,769 6,937 5,694 6,952 6,702 33,054 
			 Southern Rhodesia 7 4 4 2 5 22 
			 Southern Yemen 1 1 2 — — 4 
			 South Korea (Rep of Korea) 224 483 438 741 615 2,501 
			 South West Africa 1 — — — — 1 
			 Soviet Union (USSR) — 3 10 7 9 29 
			 Spain 158 134 116 121 130 659 
			 Sri Lanka 3,025 5,300 3,531 4,332 4,179 20,367 
			 St Christopher and Nevis — 1 1 — — 2 
			 St Helena 1 — — — — 1 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 47 24 18 22 12 123 
			 St Lucia 66 129 144 110 144 593 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 58 152 156 100 76 542 
			 Sudan 780 665 659 882 812 3,798 
			 Suriname 3 4 — 4 2 13 
			 Swaziland 15 28 21 31 50 145 
			 Sweden 43 68 56 57 69 293 
			 Switzerland 130 89 84 102 74 479 
			 Taiwan (Republic of China) 153 150 196 233 226 958 
			 Tajikistan 12 8 12 16 22 70 
			 Tanganyika and Zanzibar 4 5 3 4 4 20 
			 Thailand 558 1,044 1,286 1,837 2,184 6,909 
			 The Syrian Arab Republic 343 288 289 419 427 1,766 
			 Tibet 4 1 3 15 4 27 
			 Timor-Leste — — — 1 — 1 
			 Togo 85 95 63 93 65 401 
			 Tonga 1 9 12 5 9 36 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 414 427 443 549 488 2,321 
			 Tunisia 119 158 173 201 206 857 
			 Turkey 3,168 3,348 5,184 6,249 4,208 22,157 
			 Turkish controlled area of Cyprus — — — 1 — 1 
			 Turkmenistan 11 23 28 27 34 123 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands — — — — 1 1 
			 Uganda 1,103 1,104 934 918 884 4,943 
			 Ukraine 860 918 802 963 997 4,540 
			 Union of Myanmar — — — — 2 2 
			 United Arab Emirates 197 159 152 259 329 1,096 
			 United Kingdom 18,298 14,129 13,331 18,625 21,881 86,264 
		
	
	
		
			 United Rep of Tanzania 581 574 481 497 476 2,609 
			 United States of America 2,421 2,370 2,271 2,548 2,585 12,195 
			 United States Virgin Islands — — 2 1 1 4 
			 Unknown—officially designated 29 17 8 13 12 79 
			 Uruguay 26 14 16 13 26 95 
			 USSR 192 184 141 180 195 892 
			 Uzbekistan 75 77 85 99 90 426 
			 Vanuatu — 1 — — 1 2 
			 Venezuela 96 149 157 200 194 796 
			 Vietnam 212 313 389 436 493 1,843 
			 Western Sahara 1 — 2 — — 3 
			 Yemen 559 405 424 689 582 2,659 
			 Yemen Arab Republic 2 — — 3 — 5 
			 Yugoslavia 212 112 122 139 85 670 
			 Zambia 453 632 559 766 798 3,208 
			 Zimbabwe 3,037 5,755 6,569 6,987 5,905 28,253 
			  378 459 264 241 202 1,544 
			 Total 140,925 157,112 156,104 193,979 199,826 847,946 
		
	
	
		
			  Successful (grants) (1) 
			 Country of origin or birth 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 
			 Aden 8 10 4 — 2 24 
			 Afghanistan 2,994 9,588 5,130 4,545 4,783 27,040 
			 Albania 699 1,014 883 1,339 1,247 5,182 
			 Algeria 894 1,045 853 1,199 1,332 5,323 
			 American Samoa — — — 1 — 1 
			 Andorra 1 — — 1 — 2 
			 Angola 626 884 848 699 589 3,646 
			 Anguilla 12 29 10 — 9 60 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 14 21 16 21 11 83 
			 Argentina 127 141 130 218 165 781 
			 Armenia 82 126 65 88 82 443 
			 Aruba 1 — — 1 — 2 
			 Australia 3,423 2,780 2,172 2,712 2,456 13,543 
			 Austria 30 29 27 26 36 148 
			 Awaiting country to be added to list — — — — 1 1 
			 Azerbaijan 141 221 149 174 143 828 
			 Bahamas 16 17 16 18 15 82 
			 Bahrain 88 57 49 140 88 422 
			 Bangladesh 3,724 2,223 3,693 12,003 7,783 29,426 
			 Barbados 137 109 88 98 58 490 
			 Belarus 165 181 150 290 230 1,016 
			 Belgium 64 64 37 39 55 259 
			 Belize 13 16 9 19 11 68 
			 Benin 14 14 13 12 24 77 
			 Bermuda 2 3 2 3 2 12 
			 Bhutan 21 34 28 26 21 130 
			 Bolivia 69 76 60 101 67 373 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 228 205 99 156 107 795 
			 Botswana 33 32 38 58 78 239 
		
	
	
		
			 Brazil 548 621 596 928 999 3,692 
			 British Guiana 1 1 1 — — 3 
			 British Virgin Islands 14 12 8 4 4 42 
			 Brunei 58 37 53 61 93 302 
			 Bulgaria 516 1,039 710 1,761 1,793 5,819 
			 Burkina Faso 6 3 5 9 14 37 
			 Burma 26 18 10 19 13 86 
			 Burundi 337 581 455 360 289 2,022 
			 Byelorussian SSR 1 — — — — 1 
			 Cambodia — 5 9 16 20 50 
			 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 15 26 8 10 14 73 
			 Cameroon 324 429 331 430 440 1,954 
			 Canada 1,586 1,264 978 1,176 996 6,000 
			 Cape Verde 2 1 4 4 6 17 
			 Cayman Islands 18 30 15 9 10 82 
			 Central African Republic 5 3 4 3 3 18 
			 Ceylon — 1 — — — 1 
			 Chad 42 27 20 23 13 125 
			 Chile 103 86 92 98 75 454 
			 China 2,143 2,953 2,333 5,178 5,472 18,079 
			 Colombia 1,371 1,603 1,002 973 837 5,786 
			 Comoros 1 2 2 1 1 7 
			 Congo 384 330 192 219 255 1,380 
			 Congo (Brazzaville) 11 16 9 8 12 56 
			 Cook Islands 1 — 1 1 — 3 
			 Costa Rica 17 13 12 17 11 70 
			 Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) — — — — — 0 
			 Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 264 334 282 345 400 1,625 
			 Croatia 483 312 136 199 121 1,251 
			 Cuba 107 107 85 104 108 511 
			 Cyprus 395 159 95 129 132 910 
			 Czechoslovakia 4 4 1 5 7 21 
			 Czech Republic 88 73 46 55 83 345 
			 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 2 2 2 7 15 28 
			 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,230 1,547 1,190 1,440 1,708 7,115 
			 Denmark 22 36 24 29 38 149 
			 Djibouti 12 13 9 15 19 68 
			 Dominica 67 50 58 55 54 284 
			 Dominican Republic 36 66 53 74 70 299 
			 Dutch East Indies — — 1 — — 1 
			 East Timor — 2 1 2 1 6 
			 Ecuador 717 632 499 478 438 2,764 
			 Egypt 539 646 432 834 883 3,334 
			 El Salvador 12 8 14 16 12 62 
			 Equatorial Guinea 2 5 10 4 4 25 
			 Eritrea 450 599 428 545 817 2,839 
			 Estonia 70 73 17 33 43 236 
			 Ethiopia 732 1,012 651 765 821 3,981 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 5,166 2,404 268 52 22 7,912 
		
	
	
		
			 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland — — — — — 0 
			 Fiji 35 81 83 75 97 371 
			 Finland 25 34 27 39 29 154 
			 France 259 303 232 269 300 1,363 
			 French Guiana 1 2 1 6 1 11 
			 French Polynesia — — — — — 0 
			 Gabon 7 9 8 7 11 42 
			 Gambia 243 328 315 495 488 1,869 
			 Georgia 156 158 101 177 146 738 
			 German Democratic Republic 2 1 — 1 — 4 
			 Germany 370 428 329 436 412 1,975 
			 Ghana 2,969 2,751 2,495 3,976 3,599 15,790 
			 Gibraltar 15 21 18 15 19 88 
			 Gilbert Islands — — — 1 — 1 
			 Goa 3 — 1 2 — 6 
			 Greece 88 204 139 165 177 773 
			 Greenland — — — 1 — 1 
			 Grenada 62 72 47 62 64 307 
			 Guadeloupe 2 1 2 3 4 12 
			 Guam — — — — — 0 
			 Guatemala 16 28 25 21 9 99 
			 Guinea 26 72 71 86 100 355 
			 Guinea-Bissau 9 10 6 24 14 63 
			 Guyana 254 282 234 333 430 1,533 
			 Haiti 9 7 7 8 1 32 
			 Honduras 13 27 16 12 30 98 
			 Hong Kong 1,128 1,353 1,266 2,204 2,205 8,156 
			 Hungary 107 92 46 71 212 528 
			 Iceland 2 7 — 12 5 26 
			 India 14,285 13,353 10,828 23,002 25,350 86,818 
			 Indonesia 178 169 119 194 192 852 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 3,400 4,225 2,160 2,794 2,505 15,084 
			 Iraq 3,733 5,029 8,456 5,166 4,182 26,566 
			 Ireland 220 208 87 133 128 776 
			 Israel 455 416 283 471 383 2,008 
			 Israeli Occupied Territories 4 17 4 — — 25 
			 Italy 189 217 142 186 201 935 
			 Jamaica 2,472 3,221 2,485 2,849 2,425 13,452 
			 Japan 183 160 111 190 146 790 
			 Jordan 256 196 111 184 151 898 
			 Kazakhstan 117 129 102 150 128 626 
			 Kenya 2,922 2,579 1,669 2,338 1,973 11,481 
			 Kiribati 1 — 1 1 1 4 
			 Korea 24 20 6 20 9 79 
			 Kosovo 38 27 244 1,039 1,287 2,635 
			 Kosovo 307 111 630 211 113 1,372 
			 Kuwait 320 303 212 381 309 1,525 
			 Kyrgyzstan 44 67 51 67 39 268 
			 Lao People's Democratic Republic 10 8 8 17 12 55 
			 Latvia 79 92 38 56 118 383 
			 Lebanon 571 736 375 663 607 2,952 
			 Lesotho 11 17 16 19 30 93 
			 Liberia 134 191 158 157 163 803 
		
	
	
		
			 Libya 123 75 47 53 32 330 
			 Libya (Arab Republic) 272 264 268 413 272 1,489 
			 Libyan Arab Republic — — — 1 — 1 
			 Liechtenstein — 1 — 1 — 2 
			 Lithuania 129 123 43 87 176 558 
			 Luxembourg 3 4 3 3 5 18 
			 Macao Special Administrative Region of China 11 19 10 9 10 59 
			 Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of) 129 196 130 188 141 784 
			 Madagascar 9 17 13 12 19 70 
			 Malawi 195 209 176 257 289 1,126 
			 Malaya 2 1 — 2 — 5 
			 Malaysia 709 690 663 1,120 1,049 4,231 
			 Maldives 4 2 1 7 5 19 
			 Mali 6 6 3 7 14 36 
			 Malta 47 25 17 15 29 133 
			 Marshall Islands — — — 1 — 1 
			 Martinique 2 — 3 1 3 9 
			 Mauritania 1 5 3 7 1 17 
			 Mauritius 576 835 585 973 810 3,779 
			 Mayotte 2 — 1 — — 3 
			 Mexico 138 135 116 239 220 848 
			 Moldova, Republic of 86 137 93 134 143 593 
			 Monaco — 1 — 2 7 10 
			 Mongolia 41 61 59 63 63 287 
			 Montenegro 29 10 2 9 6 56 
			 Montserrat 4 1 1 1 6 13 
			 Morocco 501 532 523 758 708 3,022 
			 Mozambique 79 65 56 91 70 361 
			 Myanmar 156 171 134 219 221 901 
			 Namibia 63 78 38 99 68 346 
			 Nationality currently unknown — 2 — — — 2 
			 Nepal 826 932 906 2,021 2,259 6,944 
			 Netherlands 65 98 47 79 86 375 
			 Netherlands Antilles 4 3 1 3 — 11 
			 New Caledonia — — 1 — — 1 
			 New Zealand 1,706 1,413 1,121 1,408 1,389 7,037 
			 Nicaragua 8 10 12 13 11 54 
			 Niger 6 4 1 9 7 27 
			 Nigeria 5,149 5,096 3,876 5,956 6,462 26,539 
			 Niue — — — 1 — 1 
			 Northern Mariana Islands — 1 — — 1 2 
			 Northern Rhodesia 2 — — 1 2 5 
			 Norway 24 24 13 12 17 90 
			 Nyasaland 2 1 — — 1 4 
			 Oman 34 24 31 86 85 260 
			 Pakistan 9,541 7,539 8,893 19,464 20,364 65,801 
			 Palestinian Authority 80 97 73 192 193 635 
			 Panama 15 7 26 23 13 84 
		
	
	
		
			 Panama Canal Zone — — — — 1 1 
			 Papua New Guinea 24 28 10 24 22 108 
			 Paraguay 8 4 7 11 8 38 
			 Peru 131 213 167 222 217 950 
			 Philippines 7,786 9,606 4,792 10,383 8,413 40,980 
			 Poland 467 463 220 371 1,172 2,693 
			 Portugal 111 90 71 110 109 491 
			 Puerto Rico — 1 3 5 6 15 
			 Qatar 24 27 17 43 31 142 
			 Republic of Montenegro 1 4 28 36 31 100 
			 Republic of Serbia 162 257 357 376 282 1,434 
			 Reunion 1 2 — 1 2 6 
			 Rhodesia 41 30 24 32 16 143 
			 Romania — 1 1 664 742 1,408 
			 Romania 544 484 339 197 124 1,688 
			 Russian Federation 1,725 1,700 1,234 1,797 1,576 8,032 
			 Rwanda 411 581 313 296 228 1,829 
			 Samoa — 5 1 5 5 16 
			 Sao Tome and Principe 3 1 — 1 1 6 
			 Saudi Arabia 416 504 306 768 829 2,823 
			 Senegal 24 34 28 51 55 192 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 247 174 15 4 5 445 
			 Seychelles 56 62 50 73 49 290 
			 Sierra Leone 1,296 1,804 1,030 960 872 5,962 
			 Singapore 155 163 150 216 186 870 
			 Slovakia 136 114 49 53 155 507 
			 Slovenia 8 11 4 4 10 37 
			 Solomon Islands 1 1 1 9 2 14 
			 Somalia 7,584 6,416 6,447 7,336 5,271 33,054 
			 South Africa 6,986 7,430 4,757 7,611 6,630 33,414 
			 Southern Rhodesia 9 4 3 3 5 24 
			 Southern Yemen 3 2 2 — — 7 
			 South Korea (Rep of Korea) 247 488 365 769 658 2,527 
			 South West Africa 1 — — — — 1 
			 Soviet Union (USSR) — 3 8 9 7 27 
			 Spain 148 137 106 120 135 646 
			 Sri Lanka 4,607 6,030 2,992 4,196 4,199 22,024 
			 St Christopher and Nevis — 1 1 — — 2 
			 St Helena — 1 — — — 1 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 39 29 18 29 17 132 
			 St Lucia 72 123 121 120 129 565 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 52 120 151 116 78 517 
			 Sudan 806 650 521 862 792 3,631 
			 Suriname 1 4 — 4 2 11 
			 Swaziland 10 30 16 30 50 136 
			 Sweden 37 60 52 50 72 271 
			 Switzerland 129 97 69 100 74 469 
			 Taiwan (Republic of China) 175 176 164 269 214 998 
			 Tajikistan 14 10 12 15 24 75 
		
	
	
		
			 Tanganyika and Zanzibar 3 6 3 6 1 19 
			 Thailand 822 991 1,056 1,955 2,162 6,986 
			 The Syrian Arab Republic 325 324 251 457 401 1,758 
			 Tibet 6 2 3 14 5 30 
			 Timor-Leste — — — 1 — 1 
			 Togo 99 87 49 91 75 401 
			 Tonga 2 10 8 8 9 37 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 469 453 362 604 490 2,378 
			 Tunisia 117 173 138 233 196 857 
			 Turkey 4,719 4,177 4,191 6,613 4,249 23,949 
			 Turkish controlled area of Cyprus — — — 1 — 1 
			 Turkmenistan 10 27 24 30 37 128 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands — — — — 1 1 
			 Uganda 1,070 1,128 815 917 839 4,769 
			 Ukraine 810 1,150 655 1,060 988 4,663 
			 Union of Myanmar — — — — 2 2 
			 United Arab Emirates 180 166 131 262 339 1,078 
			 United Kingdom 20,580 16,353 12,363 19,323 21,869 90,488 
			 United Rep of Tanzania 736 577 399 525 446 2,683 
			 United States of America 2,854 2,535 1,975 2,736 2,562 12,662 
			 United States Virgin Islands — — — 1 1 2 
			 Unknown—officially designated 20 8 5 3 11 47 
			 Uruguay 24 19 13 15 27 98 
			 USSR 195 243 101 226 177 942 
			 Uzbekistan 75 87 67 112 95 436 
			 Vanuatu — 1 — — 2 3 
			 Venezuela 112 163 118 219 197 809 
			 Vietnam 184 304 282 453 439 1,662 
			 Western Sahara 1 — 2 — — 3 
			 Yemen 568 455 354 690 583 2,650 
			 Yemen Arab Republic 2 — — 3 — 5 
			 Yugoslavia 280 128 94 156 79 737 
			 Zambia 459 623 487 777 792 3,138 
			 Zimbabwe 2,593 5,521 5,536 7,269 5,809 26,728 
			  373 630 308 246 209 1,766 
			 Total 160,473 167,296 132,287 206,667 197,221 863,944 
			 (1) The successful (grants) figures do not relate to the applications received figures in the same time period. Source: Local management information provided by UK Border Agency, North West Region Planning and MI Team and is not a National Statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Departmental Manpower

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the UK Border Agency are based at each office location (a) in Scotland, (b) in each of the English regions, (c) in Wales, (d) in Northern Ireland and (e) overseas; and what the functions are of each office.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is divided into regions and units that are based on UK-wide functions. Staff in functional areas work in offices located across the nations and regions of the UK as well as overseas, as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent staff 
			 Border Force  
			 Functions are: Passport control, freight and people searching at ports, airports and international rail terminals, Olympics programme, Electronic border management.  
			 North region (including Scotland and Northern Ireland) 1018 
			 Heathrow 1585 
			 South and Europe 2690 
			 English central region 2314 
			   
			 Immigration Group  
			 Functions are: In-country immigration control, internal applications and citizenship, work permits, points based system, immigration enforcement, removals and asylum processes.  
			 Scotland and Northern Ireland 282 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 1826 
			 North West 1558 
			 Midlands 652 
			 South West and Wales 296 
			 London and the South East 3662 
			   
			 Criminality and Detention Group  
			 Functions are: Detention, FNP removals, criminal casework and criminal investigations.  
			 Scotland 19 
			 London and the South East 1338 
			 East of England 22 
			 North West 217 
			 North East 131 
			 South West 13 
			 Midlands 47 
			   
			 International Group  
			 Functions are: overseas immigration control, visa issuing processes, risk and airline liaison officers.  
			 Overseas 1709 
			 London and the South East 339 
			   
			 Other functions  
			 Resource Management Group manages the UK Border Agency infrastructure and IT provision; management information and commercial and procurement activities. Human Resources; industrial relations, reward, professional standards, staff development, building security, customer strategy, complaints and correspondence Intelligence; Intelligence operating model and system, special cases Communications; communications online customer services, compliance promotion, staff engagement and shared services to Home Office. Chief Executive's Office and Strategy.  
			 London and the South East 1498 
			 North West 130 
			 Wales 9 
			 Scotland 10 
			 North East 77 
		
	
	
		
			 Midlands 18 
			   
			 Some of these Groups also have small numbers of staff in other regions that are not shown separately for data protection and security reasons Less than 20

Detention Centres

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which contractors provide security for the UK Border Agency's pre-departure accommodation locations.

Damian Green: UK Border Agency pre-departure accommodation is currently available at one site, namely Cedars at Pease Pottage near Crawley in West Sussex. The service provider for Cedars is G4S Care and Justice Services (UK) Ltd.

Detention Centres

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average individuals spend at UK Border Agency pre-departure accommodation prior to their removal.

Damian Green: Under the new family returns process, families have been accommodated initially at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre and since 17 August 2011 at Cedars pre-departure accommodation.
	The average length of time spent in pre-departure accommodation is not calculated as averages are subject to distortions by a small number of cases with large values. Data ranges are used instead as these give a more balanced view.
	Published statistics on people detained in the pre-departure accommodation at Cedars by length of detention during the third quarter of 2011 will be published on 24 November 2011 in the “Immigration Statistics: July to September 2011 release”; a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House. The release is also available from the Home Office Science Research and Statistics web pages at:
	http://homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	One family was accommodated at Tinsley House in its capacity as a pre-departure accommodation. The length of stay was 3.16 days, or 75 hours and 45 minutes. This figure is based on management information, and does not form part of our publicised statistics.

Detention Centres

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the longest period that an individual spent in pre-departure accommodation prior to removal has been since May 2010.

Damian Green: Pre-departure accommodation came into effect on 1 March 2011 as part of the new family returns process. Under this process families have been accommodated initially at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) and since its opening on 17 August 2011, solely at Cedars pre-departure accommodation.
	The longest period that an individual was accommodated under the family returns process was at Tinsley House IRC. The length of stay was 3.16 days, or 75 hours and 45 minutes. This figure is based on management information, and does not form part of our publicised statistics.
	Published statistics on people detained in pre-departure accommodation at Cedars by length of detention during the third quarter of 2011 will be published on 24 November 2011 in the “Immigration Statistics: July to September 2011 release”, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House. The release is also available from the Home Office Science Research and Statistics webpages at:
	http://homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Detention Centres: Children

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether removals of children enforced in Scotland are made directly from a Scottish departure port or via a UK Border Agency facility elsewhere in the UK.

Damian Green: Removals will be through a Scottish point of departure where suitable flights are available. Where there are no suitable flights from Scotland, removal will occur through one of the larger UK airports.
	Scottish airports may be used to move a family to another airport in the UK prior to removal or to pre-departure accommodation.

Detention Centres: Children

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Independent Family Returns Panel has made any recommendations to (a) the UK Border Agency or (b) her Department that a family should not be detained.

Damian Green: The Independent Family Returns Panel was established in March 2011 as part of the new process for managing family returns. It advises the UK Border Agency on the method of removal from the UK of individual families when an ensured return is necessary.
	The UK Border Agency no longer detains families in immigration removal centres as part of ensured returns (other than, exceptionally, for high-risk or criminal cases). Since August, the options for ensured return include (but are not limited to) holding families for a short period in pre-departure accommodation, known as Cedars.
	Plans are drawn up by the UK Border Agency and referred to the panel. After discussion with the UK Border Agency, the panel advises on whether the plan (including any proposal to use Cedars) represents an appropriate method of return which takes sufficient account of the safeguarding and welfare needs of the children. The panel may advise that the plan be amended and there is a presumption that this advice will be accepted.
	If, exceptionally, the UK Border Agency does not accept the panel's advice, the case will be referred to me, as the Minister for Immigration, for a decision. The panel will include in its annual report any instances where its advice is not accepted. To date, there have been no instances where the UK Border Agency has not accepted the panel's advice, so no referrals to me have been made.
	The UK Border Agency retains the ability to detain families at the border while enquiries are made and/or pending a return flight. The panel considers the overall handling of this process to assess whether detention is being kept to a minimum, but it does not advise on individual cases.

Detention Centres: Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what mode of transport individuals detained prior to removal are transported from locations in Scotland to UK Border Agency facilities or departure ports in other parts of the UK.

Damian Green: Detainees are normally moved by road in escorting vehicles. All the vehicles used by the UK Border Agency's escorting contractor must provide appropriate security while ensuring the welfare of detainees is maintained. This includes making every effort to minimise the amount of time they spend in vehicles. Detainees may occasionally be transferred from Scotland to departure ports in other parts of the UK by domestic flight.

Detention Orders: Females

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of women leaving prison and issued with an IS91 Detention Order were (a) deported from and (b) permitted to stay in the UK in each of the last five years; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest length of time spent in detention under an IS91 Order was for each group in each year;
	(2)  how many female prisoners were issued with an IS91 Detention Order within (a) one month, (b) two weeks, (c) one week and (d) 24 hours of their release date from HM Prison Service in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The following table sets out the number and proportion of women leaving prison and issued with an IS91, who were removed from the UK or who were allowed to remain. The table also provides information on the time spent in detention. Please note that data prior to 2009 are not available.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 (1) 
			 Total number of women issued with an IS91 4204 3703 3130 
			     
			 Number of women issued with an IS91 who meet the criteria for deportation 509 349 300 
			 Of those:    
			 Removed    
			 Number 233 152 166 
			 Percentage 46 44 55 
			     
			 Allowed to remain:    
			 Number 18 21 17 
			 Percentage 4 6 6 
		
	
	
		
			     
			 Cases ongoing:    
			 Number 255 176 117 
			 Percentage 50 50 39 
			     
			 Of those removed from the UK:    
			 Average length of time in detention (days) 63 56 52 
			 Longest length of time in detention (days) 723 876 146 
			     
			 Of those allowed to remain in the UK:    
			 Average length of time in detention (days) 121 100 51 
			 Longest length of time in detention (days) 349 344 154 
			 (1) YTD—January to October 2011 
		
	
	Establishing the time period within the release date from HMP Prison Service in which a female was issued with an IS91 would require the analysis of a large volume of electronic records, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Dogs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sniffer dogs have been used by UK Border Agency staff in searching for heroin and cocaine at UK borders in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) currently has 56 dogs trained to detect drugs, including heroin and cocaine. We also have a further three drugs dogs in training, totalling 59 dogs. The number of drugs detector dogs fluctuates throughout each year due to things such as ill health or other forced retirements. The current number of dogs in operation is representative of the number of dogs UKBA has had available at any one time over the last three years.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2011, Official Report, columns 648-9W, on entry clearances, what guidance she has issued to specialist colleges on the differing levels of fees required for accreditation required by the UK Border Agency.

Damian Green: We have brought in new requirements for sponsors to apply for an educational oversight inspection to one of the public review bodies. The fees are determined by the bodies themselves and are broadly set at a level to cover their costs. These bodies are providing guidance to colleges on the inspection process and the level of fee required.

Gurkhas

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) former Gurkhas and (b) dependents of former Gurkhas have been allowed to enter and reside in the UK since May 2009.

Damian Green: The total number of visas issued to former Gurkhas and their dependants to enter the UK since 2009 is 9,965.
	
		
			 Applicant types 2009 2010 (1) 2011 
			 Former Gurkha 1,628 1,116 358 
			 Dependants of former Gurkhas 1,939 3,744 1,180 
			 (1) January to June 2011. Note: These data are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Human Trafficking: Telephone Services

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 54W, on human trafficking, what costs were associated with the operation of the Metropolitan Police's trafficking victim helpline in (a) October 2011 and (b) each financial year since it was created.

Damian Green: The Metropolitan Police Service's trafficking free phone line cost £128.40 to install and has been operational since April 2011. The first-year costs are currently calculated at £189 or £15.75 per month. Staff costs are nominal. Approximately 40 calls have been received on the line since April, of which five have been confirmed as victims of trafficking and referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Immigrants: Detainees

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many no-notice removals of failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants were undertaken by the UK Border Agency in each of the last 12 months.

Damian Green: Individuals are given at least 72 hours notice of the time and date on which they will be removed from the United Kingdom except in port cases where removal can take place on the same day as arrival. Detailed guidance on removal notice periods is in chapter 60 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance and can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/enforcement
	The number of same day port removals undertaken in each of the last 12 months could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost. The total number of quarterly port removals, however, is published within the Before Entry tables as part of the Immigration Statistics release which is available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office website. The Before Entry tables for April 2011 to June 2011 can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-tabs-q2-2011v2/before-entry-q2-11-tabs

Immigrants: Detainees

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in detention on immigration-related grounds have been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK.

Damian Green: In 2010, for an average month, there were approximately 635 foreign national offenders detained in prison beyond the end of their sentence while deportation was considered. In addition, for an average month, there were approximately 1,135 foreign national offenders detained in immigration removal centres.

Immigration

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of non-UK EU nationals who reside in the UK.

Damian Green: The subject raised in my hon. Friend's question is a matter for the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question to Secretary of State for the Home Department, asking what recent estimate she has made of the number of non-UK EU nationals who reside in the UK.
	The most recent estimate of the number of non-UK EU nationals who reside in the UK is 2,003,000 with a margin of error of +/- 61,000. This estimate, along with other published Population by Country of Birth and Nationality estimates, is based on the Annual Population Survey and relates to the 12 month period of January to December 2010. These can be found on the ONS website, table 2.1 & 2.2 at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-222711
	The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.

Members: Correspondence

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Rotherham of 21 August 2011 about Sergei Magnitsky.

Damian Green: A reply to the right hon. Member's letter was sent on 15 November 2011.

Police: Manpower

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers (a) in each age group, (b) of each sex and (c) of each ethnicity were recruited to each police force in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Herbert: Age is collected separately to ethnicity and gender. The available information placed in the House Library, shows the number of police officers that were employed within each age group in each police force in England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2010-11 (headcount). The available information also shows the number of police officers within each police force by ethnicity and gender, 2002-03 to 2010-11 (full-time equivalents). These figures were not collected by the Home Office prior to 2002-03.

Police: Manpower

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in each age group in each police force in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Herbert: The available information, placed in the House Library, shows the number of police officers that were employed in each age group in each police force area in England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2010-11 (headcount). These figures were not collected by the Home Office prior to 2002-03.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer Question 71304 on Humberside Police and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council tabled on 7 September 2011 for answer on 14 September 2011.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 18 October 2011
	I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 650W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report of the International Atomic Energy Authority on Iran's development of nuclear missiles.

Alistair Burt: The UK fully supports the work of the director general and of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in producing this important report. They have handled a very sensitive issue with care and rigour, and have worked diligently to verify and validate the information that the report draws on. In response to the report, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution expressing its
	“deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program”
	These are concerns we share.
	The report itself clearly indicates that Iran has failed to address the IAEA's “serious concerns” about the “credible” information available to it that
	“indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device”.
	It also presents evidence that provides a compelling picture of Iranian work on nuclear weapons technologies—not only up to 2003, but also beyond—and work on the continuation and expansion of its uranium enrichment programme, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. Finally, the report clearly documents Iran's repeated failures to co-operate with the agency. Iran must cease its attempts to deflect the legitimate concerns of the international community and co-operate with the agency, fully and without delay, to resolve them.

Jordan: Foreign Policy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the aims and objectives are of UK policy towards Jordan.

Alistair Burt: The UK's policy towards Jordan reflects the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's priorities of Safeguarding Britain's national security, building Britain's prosperity and supporting British nationals around the world.
	The Arab Spring has shown that increased political participation by citizens and greater economic opportunity offering them a greater stake in their state is the surest route to long-term regional stability. To this end the UK continues to support the implementation of political and economic reforms in Jordan, including through the Arab Partnership. Additionally the UK works closely with Jordan on issues of mutual interest, including regional foreign policy, counter-terrorism and defence.
	In support of building Britain's prosperity, on 15 November the Prime Minister and King Abdullah agreed to launch a UK-Jordan Economic Dialogue, which will seek ways to support both the Jordanian economy and the UK's prosperity agenda.

Lebanon: Foreign Policy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the aims and objectives are of UK policy towards Lebanon.

Alistair Burt: The UK's policy towards Lebanon reflects the FCO's priorities of Safeguarding Britain's national security, building Britain's prosperity and supporting British nationals around the world.
	Working to reduce conflict, the UK's aim is to support a stable, independent and sovereign Lebanon. To this end we have increased our assistance to the Lebanese army and police, as key institutions supporting Lebanese stability.
	The UK continues to believe the best way to achieve peace and stability in Lebanon and the wider region is through the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, including respect of Lebanese sovereignty by other countries in the region. The UK also fully supports the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in its work to end impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon. It is important Lebanon fulfils its obligations to the Tribunal by paying its portion of the approved budget as the Prime Minister emphasised during his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati on 7 November.
	Lebanon remains a business hub for the region and a strong consumer economy, with UK exports at £398.7 million for 2010, on a par with those to Kuwait, and significantly higher than Jordan. We continue to explore the potential for UK companies to play a greater role in Lebanon's ambitious plans to boost their infrastructure sector.
	We continue to ensure that embassy has plans to support for British nationals in Lebanon in place. These plans are well exercised and have the confidence of British citizens in Lebanon as well as Ministers in the UK.

Libya: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Abdel Rahim El-Keib; and what assistance he has offered to the National Transitional Council since his election.

Alistair Burt: The Prime Minister spoke to his Libyan counterpart, Abdurrahim al-Kib, on 5 November. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to Mr al-Kib on 17 November. These discussions touched on a number of issues, including the security situation in Libya, medical treatment for injured Libyans, unfreezing of assets, preparing for elections, human rights and making progress on crimes committed by the former regime, including the police investigations into the death of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, Lockerbie and Gaddafi’s support to the IRA. The UK has been providing considerable assistance in stabilisation to the new Libyan authorities, and in the security sector since Mr al-Kib's appointment.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Reform

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to bring forward proposals on (a) funding for 200 all-postal primaries, (b) the recall of hon. Members and (c) prevention of the misuse of Parliamentary privilege.

Mark Harper: The Coalition programme for government says that all-postal primaries will be “targeted at seats which have not changed hands for many years”. The boundary changes legislated for earlier in the year will have implications for almost all existing constituencies and we will need to take this into account when considering how to take forward this policy. In relation to the right to recall MPs, we will announce the details of our proposals before the Christmas recess. On parliamentary privilege, the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young), plans to update the House on the preparations for a draft Bill on parliamentary privilege before the Christmas recess.

WALES

Enterprise Zones

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues and Ministers in the Welsh Government on cross-border economic implications of the development of enterprise zones.

Cheryl Gillan: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and with the First Minister on various issues, including enterprise zones in Wales. It is vital that businesses investing in Wales are given the same or even better competitive advantages as businesses in places just across the border such as Bristol and Merseyside.

Exports

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the First Minister on Welsh exports to non-EU countries.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), has regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of issues including Welsh exports.
	I am very pleased that recent figures showed an increase in Welsh exports to non-EU countries of 44.5%. This is excellent news and testament to the hard work of businesses across Wales.

Economic Growth

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment she has made of the state of the Welsh economy; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The economy across the UK is starting to return to growth, despite recent disappointing unemployment figures in Wales.
	We have had to make difficult decisions in order to reduce the massive deficit that we inherited but our deficit reduction plan has proved the right course of action with the UK's AAA rating recently being reaffirmed.

Press Releases

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press releases her Department has issued since May 2010; and how many of these were bilingual.

David Jones: Between May 2010 and 10 November 2011 the Wales Office has issued 277 press releases and of these, 250 are bilingual. The remaining 27 are awaiting translation.

SCOTLAND

Foreign Visits

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in how many international visits (a) the Secretary of State, (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and (c) senior staff in his Department have participated in 2010-11; what the (i) cost and (ii) purpose was of each visit; how many international visits are planned to (A) the Americas, (B) the Middle East and (C) Western Europe; and what estimate he has made of the cost of planned future international visits.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I have undertaken one international visit each in 2010-11 with one further trip planned by the Secretary of State to Brazil at the end of this month. Information requested is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Trip Minister and Group Purpose Total cost (£) 
			 USA and Canada 3-9 April 2011 David Mundell Attend Tartan week events and promote Scottish businesses. 2,685.71 
			 Brussels 14-15 June 2011 Michael Moore (plus two) Meetings with European Commission, MEPs and businesses. 841.19 
			 Brazil (Planned) 26 November-1 December 2011 Michael Moore (plus two) Lead Scottish trade delegation, meeting businesses, Brazilian Government and others. (1)— 
			 1 Costs being finalised.

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on proposed closures of Jobcentre Plus offices in Scotland.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore) and I are in contact with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), on a range of issues relating to the Government's welfare reform agenda, which includes ensuring that Jobcentre Plus continues to meet local needs while delivering value for money to the taxpayer.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Emissions

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on steps to reduce carbon emissions attributable to aviation. [R]

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 10 November 2011
	We support the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading System from next year and we will continue to work to secure global solutions on aviation emissions. This approach provides an important way to ensure that the aviation sector takes strong, cost-effective action to address its climate change impacts while avoiding competitive disadvantage to the UK.
	In August the Government published its response to the Committee on Climate Change report on reducing CO2 emissions from UK aviation. This included an assessment of the potential of a number of possible policy options to reduce aviation CO2 emissions, along with an estimate of their costs, out to 2050. This and other evidence gathered in response to our scoping document on developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation will inform the draft framework which we intend to publish for consultation in March 2012.

Domestic Aviation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information her Department holds on the number of people who have flown from (a) Aberdeen and (b) Edinburgh to overseas destinations via Heathrow airport in each of the last three years.

Theresa Villiers: In 2009 it is estimated that approximately 150,000 people flew from Aberdeen to an overseas destination via Heathrow and 340,000 flew to an overseas destination from Edinburgh via Heathrow. A similar number would have made the same journey in the other direction, flying from an overseas destination to Aberdeen or Edinburgh via Heathrow. Reliable estimates are not available for 2008 or 2010.

Domestic Aviation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have flown between Heathrow airport and (a) Edinburgh and (b) Aberdeen in each of the last three years.

Theresa Villiers: The figures requested are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of passengers flying between Heathrow and Edinburgh or Aberdeen airport, 2008-10 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Heathrow to Edinburgh 1,319,000 1,306,000 1,245,000 
			 Heathrow to Aberdeen 656,000 641,000 618,000

Domestic Aviation

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions she has had on the effect on passengers of the sale of BMI;
	(2)  whether she has discussed with (a) BMI and (b) British Airways the future provision of flights between Edinburgh and London Heathrow.

Theresa Villiers: The possible sale of BMI is a commercial matter for discussion between BMI's owner Lufthansa and prospective purchasers. The Secretary of State for Transport received a factual briefing from British Airways following that airline's public announcement of its interest in purchasing BMI. Decisions about which air services operate from which UK airports are a commercial matter for airlines.

Charities

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants her Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: The Department does not hold information on which of its suppliers are charitable organisations. I therefore regret that information on the amounts of grant paid to charitable organisations is not available except at disproportionate cost.

Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultants and advisers her Department has employed in respect of the (a) Thameslink programme, (b) Thameslink rolling stock procurement and (c) Intercity Express programme; how much she has budgeted in respect of each such contractor; and how much each contractor has invoiced to date. [Official Report, 23 January 2012, Vol. 539, c. 1-4MC.]

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 21 October 2011
	The information requested can be found as follows.
	
		
			 Thameslink Rolling Stock Project 
			 £ million 
			  Costs incurred to May 2010 Cost incurred June 2010  to  September 2011 October 2011 to March 2012 forecast 
			 Arup 4.0 1.7 0.5 
			 Freshfields 6.6 1.9 1.3 
			 PWC 2.5 0.9 0.6 
			 Interfleet 1.5 0.1 0 
			 Booz 0.5 0.3 0.1 
			 Total 15.1 4.9 2.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Thameslink Programme 
			 £ million 
			  Costs incurred to May 2010 Cost incurred June 2010  to  September 2011 October 2011 to March 2012 forecast 
			 Atkins 0.5 0.1 0.1 
			 EC Harris 0.2 0.1 0.25 
			 SDG 0 0.1 0.03 
			 Nichols 1.4 0.3 0.04 
			 Bovis Lend Lease Consulting 0.7 0.4 0.09 
			 Eversheds 0.07 0.01 0 
			 Willis 0.036 0.004 0.01 
			 Total 2.906 1.014 0.52 
		
	
	
		
			 IEP Programme 
			 £ million 
			  Costs incurred to May 2010 Cost incurred June 2010  to  September 2011 October 2011 to March 2012 forecast 
			 Barkers HR Advertising 0.016 0 0 
			 Capita Resourcing 0.3 0.008 0 
			 Clifford Chance 0.002 0 0 
			 Congress Centre 0.012 0 0 
			 Ernst and Young 0.2 0 0 
			 First Class Partnership 0.006 0 0 
			 Freshfields 5.6 1.0 1.1 
			 Jim Standen Associates 0.01 0 0 
			 Manpower 0 0.13 0.25 
			 Mott MacDonald 11.8 0.48 0.70 
			 MWB Business Exchange 0.002 0 0 
			 Nichols 3.1 0.09 0.02 
			 PWC 2.5 0.16 0.8 
			 QCs 0 0.01 0.01 
			 Reed Employment 0.06 0.03 0 
			 SDG 1.2 0.13 0 
			 Willis 0.01 0.005 0.009 
			 Total 24.81 2.04 2.88 
		
	
	Detailed spending plans for years beyond the financial year 2011-12 have not yet been agreed.

Consultants

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place in the Library a list of all reports that consultants working for her Department have written in respect of (a) the Intercity Express Programme, (b) Thameslink rolling stock procurement and (c) Crossrail.

Theresa Villiers: The Department operates a policy of openness and transparency. Consequently, relevant information relating to (a) the Intercity Express Programme, (b) Thameslink rolling stock procurement and (c) Crossrail is available on the Department's or Crossrail Ltd's websites, the links to which are provided as follows. The Department and Crossrail Ltd will continue to publish relevant documentation on their respective websites as the projects develop over time.
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/topics/crossrail
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/topics/iep
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/thameslink
	http://www.crossrail.co.uk

East Coast Railway Line: Disability

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to fully implement the Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specifications for Interoperability requirements on rolling stock used by the East Coast rail franchise.

Norman Baker: It will be the responsibility of the operator at the relevant date to ensure that all rolling stock in use on the East Coast franchise is accessible by the legal deadline of 1 January 2020.
	Refurbishment of the current rolling stock has seen the fitment of priority seating, wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets. Installation of audio/visual passenger information systems is the main area outstanding. The Intercity Express Programme fleet that is to be built for this route will be constructed to modern access standards.

Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which her Department has responsibility made use of the Government Procurement Card in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10.

Norman Baker: The information is as follows.
	
		
			 Department for Transport Agencies and NDPBs using GPC 
			 Agency/ALB 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 DSA Yes Yes Yes 
			 HA Yes Yes Yes 
			 MCA Yes Yes Yes 
			 GCDA Yes Yes Yes 
			 VOSA Yes Yes Yes 
			 VCA Yes Yes Yes 
			 DVLA Yes Yes Yes 
			 British Transport Police Yes Yes Yes 
			 Passenger Focus Yes Yes Yes 
			 Directly Operated Railways n/a n/a No 
		
	
	
		
			 Northern Lighthouse Board Yes Yes Yes 
			 Trinity House Lighthouse Service No No No 
			 HS2 n/a n/a No 
			 n/a = Did not exist for the year in question

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department plans to take in respect of the cost of motor insurance for young drivers; and when she expects to implement such plans.

Michael Penning: I met a range of stakeholders including the Association of British Insurers and the driver training industry in June to consider how young people can best acquire the skills and behaviours needed to be safe and responsible drivers and therefore reduce their risk to insurers. Officials continue to work with them and the insurance industry to evidence a wide range of proposals for my consideration, ahead of formal consultation around spring 2012.
	The Government have already taken other steps to help manage rising insurance costs. These include the introduction of the continuous insurance enforcement scheme to tackle uninsured driving, plans to allow insurers access to the DVLA driver database to check motoring convictions to reduce fraud, and measures to tackle legal costs through abolishing the recoverability of Conditional Fee Agreements' success fees and after the event insurance, and banning referral fees.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) cost, (b) date of commencement and (c) duration is of each private finance initiative contract managed by her Department.

Norman Baker: Department for Transport PFI project details are incorporated into the HM Treasury Signed Deals List and published at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
	The Treasury website itemisation includes details of project: capital values, date of financial close, operational period of the contract and the annual unitary charge details indicates the year each contract became operational.
	The following projects have been awarded since the HM Treasury Signed Deals List was last updated:
	
		
			 Project Commencement date Duration (years) Cost (£ million) 
			 Cambridgeshire street lighting July 2011 25 234.5 
			 Croydon and Lewisham street lighting July 2011 25 335.0 
			 Knowsley street lighting July 2011 25 166.6 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottingham street lighting September 2010 25 235.8 
			 Northamptonshire street lighting November 2011 25 333.5 
			 Oldham street lighting July 2011 25 154.6 
			 Rochdale street lighting July 2011 25 153.3

Public Transport: Finance

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of her Department's spending reduction for public transport on people with a low income.

Norman Baker: Buses are most heavily used by people on the lowest incomes. No cuts were made this year to the subsidy paid to bus operators and the Government believe the 20% cut from April 2012 is manageable given the reductions to budgets elsewhere. The Government have made a commitment to providing free local bus travel for older and disabled people to ensure that no one who is older or disabled in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone. 40% of concessionary journeys are made by people with a household income of less than £10,000.
	While there is no statutory obligation to carry out a formal assessment of the impact of spending decisions on people on low incomes, Ministers carefully considered this during the spending review process.

Railway Stations: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are any plans to close railway ticket offices in Teesside.

Theresa Villiers: An independent study by Sir Roy McNulty on the value for money of the railways recommended closure of ticket offices at category E stations.
	The aim of the study was to examine the overall cost structure of all elements of the rail sector to identify the options for improving value for money to both passengers and taxpayers, while continuing to expand capacity and drive up passenger satisfaction with the railway.
	Government are currently considering the findings of this independent report, but no decisions have yet been made.

Railway Stations: Standards

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has considered giving greater powers to rail companies in taking ownership of the upkeep of rail stations for the purposes of ensuring they are maintained to a high standard.

Theresa Villiers: A package of measures has been developed with the rail industry to transfer responsibility for repairs, maintenance and renewal at stations to franchised operators.
	The new Greater Anglia franchise, awarded on 20 October 2011, is the first to adopt many of these new measures. We expect to implement the full package of measures in the Intercity West Coast franchise when tenders are invited in the new year.

Railways: Disability

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail carriages (a) have been upgraded to meet with and (b) do not comply with the Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specifications for Interoperability requirements.

Norman Baker: Information on which rail vehicles have been built or fully refurbished to modern accessibility standards is available on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/transportforyou-access-rail-vehicles-pubs-rva/accessibilitystandards.xls
	Approximately 6,500 heavy rail and 3,500 non-heavy rail (metro, tram and underground) vehicles (54% and 78% of each fleet respectively) remain in service which pre-date the introduction of modern access standards in 1998. These will need to be made accessible or withdrawn by 1 January 2020.

Railways: Economic Situation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the effect of economic conditions in the Eurozone on the cost of financing the (a) Thameslink rolling stock and (b) Intercity Express Programme contract. [R]

Theresa Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 418W.

Railways: Electrification

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent work her Department has undertaken on the proposed electrification of the railway line between Leeds and York via Harrogate.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport has not recently undertaken work on electrification of the railway line between Leeds and York via Harrogate.

Railways: Franchises

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse has been of the railway franchises operated by (a) Virgin Rail Group and (b) West Coast Trains.

Norman Baker: Subsidy and premium payments in respect of all rail franchises are published annually by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in National Rail Trends (NRT). Copies of NRT are available in the Library of the House and on the ORR's website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department has spent on (a) solicitors and (b) consultants in connection with negotiations with bidders for the Greater Anglia rail franchise since May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 14 November 2011
	Since May 2010 the Department has spent the following in connection with the Greater Anglia franchise:
	
		
			 £ 
			 (a) Legal advisor 155,000 
			 (b) Technical advisor 270,000 
			 Note: These figures exclude VAT.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department has spent on (a) solicitors and (b) consultants for work related to the (i) East Coast and (ii) Cross Country rail franchise in the last 12 months.

Theresa Villiers: (a) In the last 12 months the Department has spent the following amounts on solicitors (external) in connection with the franchises listed in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			 (i) East Coast 0 
			 (ii) Cross country 0 
		
	
	(b) In the last 12 months the Department has spent the following amounts on consultants in connection with the franchises listed in the following table;
	
		
			  £ 
			 (i) East Coast 0 
			 (ii) Cross country 0 
		
	
	The above figures do not include any project costs which are integrated and impact the franchises detailed above.

Railways: Snow and Ice

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at how many locations on the third-rail electrified network conductor rail heating has been installed since 1 January 2011; and how many further locations are planned for installation by 31 December 2012.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 26 October 2011
	Network Rail is rolling out an extensive programme of conductor rail heating across London and the south-east. The current programme entails the installation of approximately 80 km of conductor rail heating spanning 421 locations across the Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes.
	42 locations were fitted in the first phase of the programme in 2010. Approximately 85% of the 421 locations will be completed by 1 December 2011 with the remaining locations being completed by January 2012.

Railways: Standards

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on allowing railway operating companies to reduce capacity and increase over-crowding; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 14 November 2011
	In making decisions on franchise requirements and rail capacity, the Government consider value for money, affordability and wider transport, economic and environmental objectives.

Shipping

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the conclusion of her Department's National Policy Statement for Ports published in October 2011 that coastal shipping is expected to grow, what estimate her Department has made of the potential increase in such shipping.

Michael Penning: The Department has not undertaken specific forecasts of coastal shipping but we would expect it to grow at least in line with growth in the traffic sectors carried.

Transport

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department plans to publish a National Policy Statement for national networks.

Justine Greening: We plan to designate the National Networks National Policy Statement by the end of 2012.

Transport: Passengers

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much funding was allocated to passenger transport executives by (a) her Department and (b) other bodies in 2010-11;
	(2)  how much funding was allocated by passenger transport executives in 2010-11.

Norman Baker: In 2010-11, the Department for Transport allocated £566.16 million to passenger transport executives, either directly or via their respective integrated transport authorities. This includes funding for local major schemes and rail support but does not include the £70 million the Department provides to Merseytravel for the operation of the devolved Merseyrail network.
	The following table gives a breakdown of this figure by passenger transport executive:
	
		
			 Passenger transport executive Funding allocated (£000) 
			 Centro (West Midlands) 37,584 
			 Greater Manchester PTE 260,744 
			 Merseytravel 39,820 
			 Metro (West Yorkshire) 94,130 
			 Nexus (Tyne and Wear) 85,138 
			 South Yorkshire PTE 48,745 
			 Total 566,161 
		
	
	While some of the variation in the above table will be due to the differing geographical sizes of the passenger transport executive areas (as well as other factors), funding for local major schemes has a large effect. For instance, Greater Manchester received £137 million in 2010-11 for local major schemes while four of the other passenger transport executives received no money.
	The Department does not hold information on funding allocated to passenger transport executives from other bodies.

Tugboats

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation her Department undertook with (a) maritime users, (b) local authorities and (c) other organisations on its proposal to remove emergency towing vessels.

Michael Penning: Because the decision was taken and announced as part of the comprehensive spending review, it would not have been appropriate to launch any formal consultation.

Tugboats

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the possible safety implications for shipping of the withdrawal of emergency towing vehicles in relation to the Clair Ridge oil field development project.

Michael Penning: No specific assessment of the withdrawal of emergency towing vessels (ETVs) has been carried out in relation to the Clair Ridge oil field development project.
	The licensing regime for offshore exploration activities includes the requirement for the licensee to prepare a full safety case in relation to their activity. This includes an assessment of the risk to safety of navigation in the area and proposals for appropriate mitigation measures.
	Since 1 October 2011, the Scotland Office has been responsible for leading efforts to secure a long-term replacement for the ETV service in waters around Scotland surrounding the Northern and Western Isles.

Tugboats

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the safety implications for shipping of the withdrawal of emergency towing vehicles covering the English Channel.

Michael Penning: We are satisfied that there is sufficient commercial tug capacity to provide an acceptable response to disabled vessels that break down in the vicinity of the Dover strait and the south-west approaches.
	Shipping is not risk free, but the world has moved on considerably since emergency towing vessels were introduced. Improvements in ship technology, navigation and safety systems, together with the advent of new ship routing and reporting measures, and advances in shore-based surveillances, mean less risk of vessels grounding and potentially polluting our waters.

Tugboats

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have received from the French Government on the withdrawal of emergency towing vehicles covering the English Channel.

Michael Penning: The French Government have made representations both at ministerial level and at official level in relation to the UK's decision to withdraw provision of publicly funded emergency towing vessel (ETV) services.
	The French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing wrote to the UK's Secretary for State for Transport. My officials have met with the French Defence Attaché to the UK, their Permanent Representatives to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London, as well as attending the Anglo-French Safety of Navigation Group (AFSONG) and the Anglo-French Accident Technical Group (AFATG) meetings; ETVs were discussed at both meetings.

US Aviation: Meetings

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has any plans to meet officials from the (a) US Federal Aviation Administration or (b) US Department of Transportation.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 14 November 2011
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith), on 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 187W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Data Monitoring

Karl McCartney: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether there have been any occasions when (a) telephones and (b) emails and data held on computers on the Parliamentary Estate have been (i) illegally and (ii) legally monitored in the last five years.

John Thurso: There is no record of illegal access to telephones or emails and data held on computers on the parliamentary estate in the last five years.
	Some telephone calls, for example to the PICT service desk, are monitored for training and quality purposes, and the caller is always informed of this. Otherwise, there has been no monitoring of phone calls of Members, Members' staff or House staff during the past five years.
	There has been no monitoring of Members' emails and data in the past five years. Only in extraordinary circumstances, under the explicit authority of Mr Speaker, would any such monitoring take place.
	The situation as regards emails and data held on the computers of House staff and Members' staff is the same as for emails and data of employees in any organisation: the information is protected under the Data Protection Act, but the employer has the right to monitor or investigate the contents of emails if there is a legitimate reason to do so. At the request of the Members concerned, emails and data of three staff of Members have been monitored in the past 18-months; records are not available for the period before that. It is unusual for the contents of emails and data of House staff to be monitored, though there have been occasions within the past five years. When this occurs, it is done in accordance with the conditions set out in paragraph 7.6.7 of the Staff Handbook.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Serious Fraud Office

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many (a) police officers and (b) support staff were employed by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of Serious Fraud Office investigations proceed to (a) charges being made and (b) conviction in each of the last five years.

Dominic Grieve: The SFO does not employ any police officers. SFO investigative staff come from a range of different backgrounds and some may have previously worked as police officers.
	Staff numbers for non-operational roles in each of the last five years, as at 31 March, are:
	
		
			  Staff (number) 
			 Currently as of 18 November 2011 61 
			 2010-11 64 
			 2009-10 57 
			 2008-09 (1)41 
			 2007-08 54 
			 (1) A management approved voluntary early retirement scheme exercise took place in March 2009 which may have impacted these figures 
		
	
	The SFO receives hundreds of referrals from all sources, including the general public every year. The SFO accepts only the most complex and difficult cases as shown in their published selection criteria which can be found online at:
	http://www.sfo.gov.uk/victims/individual-victims/can-i-report-a-fraud-or-corruption-directly-to-the-sfo.aspx
	and refers the rest to other law enforcement organisations or regulators as appropriate. Records are not maintained on the number which are referred to other public organisations. Cases that are accepted undergo an intense three-month, focused research into the allegations made. At the end of this period the SFO reviews the case in depth to establish the most suitable way of taking it forward—for example, a full criminal investigation or civil recovery action. Approximately 10% of cases are stopped at this stage. All charging decisions are made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
	Once defendants have been charged, the case is very unlikely to be stopped. This has happened only once in the last four years.
	All active investigations in the SFO undergo case reviews at least quarterly. This ensures the investigation into allegations remain focussed. Cases being prosecuted are kept regularly under review in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
	
		
			 Conviction rates in the last five years 
			  Percentage of defendants found guilty 
			 2010-11 84 
			 2009-10 90 
			 2008-09 78 
			 2007-08 68 
			 2006-07 58

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Democratic Republic of Congo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he has any plans to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development routinely publish details of visits through press releases unless there are security issues which preclude such disclosure. Where external bodies are involved the information would be provided when available unless, once again, there are security issues which would restrict the timing and extent of disclosure.

Nicaragua

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has any plans to visit Nicaragua.

Andrew Mitchell: No.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Capital Allowances

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes to capital allowances in the agricultural sector.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has had no discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), on changes to capital allowances in the agricultural sector.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what applications for judicial review have been made against her Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by her Department for each such application; in each failed application whether she applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether her Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant.

Richard Benyon: Since May 2010, 10 applications have been made for judicial review against the Department: one was successful, four failed, two were settled and three remain pending.
	The legal cost (of counsel) incurred for each to date is as follows. Fee notes are outstanding in many of these cases and the figures do not include estimates for accruals.
	
		
			  £ 
			 Case 1 450 
			 Case 2 0 
			 Case 3 20,885 
			 Case 4 870 
			 Case 5 0 
			 Case 6 35,812 
			 Case 7 1,780 
			 Case 8 480 
			 Case 9 1,085 
			 Case 10 4,970 
		
	
	Costs were applied for in each of the four failed applications, awarded in three, and have been paid in two (so far).
	The Department did not pay for, or offer to pay, the costs of any of the applicants whose application failed.
	The information as to what applications for judicial review were made against the Department in the last Parliament is not readily available and the cost to obtain it would be disproportionate.

Departmental Manpower

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff work on the (a) infectious diseases: animal and plant, (b) flooding and (c) food and water workstream of the Capabilities Programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has four work streams under the Capabilities programme: animal disease; flooding; food supply; and water supply. Plant disease is not a work stream within this programme. Full-time equivalent data on each of the work streams are listed in the following table:
	
		
			 Quarter ending Animal disease Flooding Food Water 
			 As of 4 November 2011 18.4 1 1.5 1.8 
			 30 September 2011 18.4 1 1.5 2.6 
			 30 June 2011 20.4 1 1.5 2.6 
			 31 March 2011 20 1 1.5 2.6 
			 31 December 2010 19 1 1.5 2.6 
			 30 September 2010 23.83 1 1.5 2.6 
			 30 June 2010 22.83 1 1.5 2.6 
			 31 March 2010 25.83 1 1.5 2.6 
			 31 December 2009 27.53 1 1.5 2.6 
			 30 September 2009 26.73 1 1.5 2.6 
			 30 June 2009 27.23 1 1.5 2.6 
			 Note: Numbers reflect numbers of staff working in the core Department. Animal disease figures are significantly higher as, for the other work streams, the bulk of the activity which supports the programme objectives is carried out by others outside DEFRA.

Ministerial Meetings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings she has had with representatives of (a) social enterprises, (b) charities, (c) large private sector businesses and (d) small and medium-sized private sector businesses since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: We do not keep records for the categories used in this question. However, between April 2011 to date, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has met with more than 13 organisations with charitable links and nine representatives of private companies.
	Quarterly returns of all ministerial meetings are published on our website, following Cabinet Office guidelines and from May 2010 to March 2011 can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/who/ministers/transparency/

Departmental Training

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many external training courses staff of her Department attended in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of each course.

Richard Benyon: The information to answer this question is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fisheries: Birds of Prey

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects her Department's review of policy on managing the impact on inland fisheries of predation by fish-eating birds to be (a) completed and (b) published.

Richard Benyon: The review of policy relating to fish-eating birds is expected to conclude early in 2012, with recommendations being made to Ministers in the spring of 2012. The findings of the review will be published shortly after this.

Flood and Water Management Act 2010

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government will publish guidance on company social tariffs under section 44 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Richard Benyon: The Government are currently consulting on draft company social tariff guidance under section 44 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. More information can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2011/10/26/social-tariffs/
	We aim to publish final guidance early next year.

Hydroelectric Power: Regulation

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to deregulate the establishment of small-scale hydroelectric schemes; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: We do not have any plans to deregulate the establishment of small-scale hydroelectric schemes. However, we are working to ensure the administrative burden of meeting essential environmental standards is kept to a minimum. The Environment Agency has streamlined administrative arrangements for the application and determination processes for those applying for the necessary permissions. The Environment Agency is also working with stakeholders to revise its environmental good practice guidelines for hydropower. We will continue to seek to maintain the right balance between encouraging growth in this sector and ensuring that sufficient environmental protection standards remain in place.

Legal Opinion: Costs

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times her Department sought legal advice from external counsel in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011.

Richard Benyon: The Department does not keep a central record of the number of times it has sought legal advice from external counsel. It does record payments to external counsel, although not the reason for those payments, which can be payments for representation in court or for legal advice.
	It is not necessarily the case that each payment equates to a separate piece of work. The figures include some payments relating to work for DEFRA's executive agencies, but exclude any external legal advice obtained directly by executive agencies, records of which are not held centrally. It would be disproportionately costly to disaggregate the figures.
	
		
			  Total number of payments made to external counsel 
			 2007 296 
			 2009 257 
			 2010 225 
			 2011 (first six months) 120

Legal Opinion: Costs

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on (a) legal advice and (b) instructing counsel in (i) 2007, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) the first six months of 2011; how many times (A) her Department was taken to court and (B) a decision taken by her Department was subject to a judicial review; and what the outcome was of each such (1) case and (2) review.

Richard Benyon: The Department's records do not separate out the cost of legal advice from other expenditure on legal services, but the full net cost of the Department's in-house legal team is shown in the following table, with figures rounded to the nearest £1,000. Presenting this by calendar year (as opposed to financial year) and including expenditure on legal advice that may have occurred outside the in-house legal team in these years would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Net cost of in house team (£) 
			 2007-08 8,429,000 
			 2009-10 8,256,000 
			 2010-11 7,205,000 
			 2011-12 (April to June) 1,764,000 
		
	
	The figures in the above table include payments made to external counsel.
	The following table shows only those payments made to external counsel in the calendar years specified. They include costs relating to representation in court and not legal advice alone. It would be disproportionately costly to identify these types of costs separately.
	
		
			  Payments to external counsel (£) 
			 2007 533,071 
			 2009 602,861 
			 2010 425,126 
			 2011 (first six months) 377,010 
		
	
	The figures in both the above tables include the cost of internal and external legal services provided to executive agencies. It would be disproportionately costly to disaggregate the figures for DEFRA from its executive agencies.
	The Department's records do not identify cases in which the Department has been taken to court (and the outcome) as distinct from other cases, such as those that the Department has brought against others and cases resolved under a formal pre-action protocol. To disaggregate cases brought against the Department and their outcome would incur disproportionate cost.
	The number of times the Department's decisions have been subject to judicial review and the outcome of these cases since 2009 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number Outcome 
			 2009 15 12 unsuccessful challenges 3 successful challenges 
			 2010 6 2 unsuccessful challenges 2 successful challenges 2 settled 
			 2011 (first six months) 4 3 unsuccessful challenges 1 ongoing 
		
	
	To provide figures for 2007 would incur disproportionate cost.

Poultry: EU Law

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on EU-wide implementation of the EU laying hens directive by the 2012 deadline; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The UK is fully engaged with the Commission and other member states in finding a practical enforcement solution to large scale non-compliance. The cage ban was an agenda item at the Agriculture Council meeting held on 14 November 2011 which I attended. Disappointingly little progress was made, and discussions are continuing.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), wrote jointly with nine other concerned member states to the European Commission in September. They urged the Commission to act quickly to protect those producers across the EU who will have complied with the ban, from the risk of competitive distortion in favour of those who will have maintained illegal production after 1 January 2012.

Rural Areas

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials work in her Department's Rural Policy Unit.

Richard Benyon: The Rural Communities Policy Unit currently has 33 staff and is also able to draw on dedicated support from DEFRA economists and social researchers.

Water Supply

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date the Water White Paper will be published.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is committed to publishing the Water White Paper in December.

Wild Mammals

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) found guilty of offences under the (i) Badgers Act 1991, (ii) Deer Act 1999, (iii) Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and (iv) Hunting Act 2004 in (A) 2009 and (B) 2010.

Richard Benyon: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for and found guilty at all courts of offences under the (i) Protection of Badgers Act 1992, (ii) Deer Act 1991, (iii) Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 and (iv) Hunting Act 2004, in 2009 and 2010, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selected animal related offences, England and Wales, 2009 - 10 (1,2) 
			  2009 2010 
			 Statute Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty 
			 Protection of Badgers Act 1992, Sections 1-5 and 10 44 26 40 23 
			 Protection of Badgers Act 1992, section 13 6 4 8 6 
			 Deer Act 1991 3 2 10 5 
			 Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 8 5 6 4 
			 Hunting Act 2004 92 59 49 36 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 153 96 113 74 
			 (1) The figures presented relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Empty Property: Halifax

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of properties in Halifax town centre are vacant; and what proportion were vacant in 2010.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	The Valuation Office Agency does not hold data on the occupancy status of properties.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) publishes figures on the number of vacant properties in the local authority of Calderdale, which includes Halifax town. Figures for smaller geographical areas are not available.
	The number of vacant dwellings in Calderdale from 2004-10 can be found in the following table on the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1815793.xls
	The number of empty non-domestic hereditaments in Calderdale for 2010 can be found in the following table on the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1972201.xls

Fire Services: Costs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which fire authorities are paying the leasing costs of regional control centres; and how much each is paying each month.

Bob Neill: There are nine regional control centres. The lease costs of five are paid directly by DCLG. For the other four, DCLG grant-fund the fire and rescue services, who then pay the lease costs themselves. The amounts currently involved are shown in the following table.
	The National Audit Office report of 1 July 2011, “The Failure of the FiReControl project”, states on the empty buildings:
	“The Department's failure to manage the project as a whole has resulted in the creation of empty regional control centres. The nine regional control centres were purpose-built to house the new computerised equipment and were designed specifically for that purpose. The Department's decision to prioritise the procurement of the centres over the IT system at an early stage meant that the first centres were completed in June 2007, just three months after the IT contract had been awarded”.
	Our aim is now to achieve the best possible value for money for the tax payer from these buildings. One control centre has been assigned to the fire service, in London. They are due to move in shortly. DCLG is working with a number of fire that rescue authorities and other emergency services that have expressed an interest in taking on a regional control centre, in order to make good use of the buildings. The decision as to whether fire and rescue services use the buildings is entirely a local matter.
	DCLG have reduced the facilities management costs for the buildings by 25% and utilities by 35%, and will look to make further savings where appropriate.
	
		
			 Regional control centre Lease costs per month (£) 
			 North East Regional Control Centre (DCLG grant to Durham Fire Authority) (1)107,033 
			 North West Regional Control Centre (DCLG grant to Greater Manchester Fire Authority) (2)142,017 
			 London Regional Control Centre (DCLG grant to Greater London Authority) (1)225,263 
			 East Midlands Regional Control Centre (DCLG grant Leicestershire Fire Authority) (1)110,849 
			 South East Regional Control Centre (DCLG pay directly) (3)121,000 
			 South West Regional Control Centre (DCLG pay directly) (3)102,372.53 
			 East of England Regional Control Centre (DCLG pay directly) (3)113,329.44 
			 West Midlands Regional Control Centre (DCLG pay directly) (3)114,763.87 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Control Centre (DCLG pay directly) (3)100,531.20 
			 (1) Includes rent, utilities and estates costs. (2) Includes rent, utilities, estates and facilities management costs. (3) Includes rent.

Fire Services: Pensions

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he has made an estimate of the average cost to individual members of the implementation of his proposed changes to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme.

Bob Neill: In his interim report on public service pension reform, Lord Hutton of Furness recommended increasing employee contributions as the cost of public service pensions had increased by a third due to improving longevity and this additional cost had fallen primarily on taxpayers. The Government accepted Lord Hutton's rationale and, at the spending review, announced the intention to implement progressive increases to employee contribution rates in public sector pension schemes, equivalent to 3.2% on average to be phased in from April 2012.
	A statutory consultation for the firefighters' pension schemes in England was published on 9 September 2011 and consults on proposed increases from April 2012 for the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 1992 and the New Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006. Under those proposals, a fulltime firefighter earning £28,200 in the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 1992 would pay an additional £24 a month after tax relief, and the same firefighter in the New Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006 would pay an additional £11 a month after tax relief. There remain strong economic reasons why all members should remain in good quality, guaranteed, reformed public service pension schemes.

Growing Places Fund

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the effects on rural areas of its Growing Places Fund.

Grant Shapps: The Growing Places Fund will help promote both urban and rural job creation and housing. It will unlock investment in supporting infrastructure that will make development more sustainable in both urban and rural settings. Local Enterprise Partnerships are in the lead, and I refer the hon. Member to the Growing Places Fund prospectus which is in the Library of the House.

Gurkhas: Aldershot

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how he plans that his recently announced £1.5 million funding to ease the pressure on Aldershot as a result of Gurkha immigration will be spent.

Andrew Stunell: The new £1.5 million fund will support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers and their dependants who, having served in the British Army, now wish to settle in the United Kingdom.
	My officials will be contacting authorities with major Gurkha populations, the Gurkha Welfare Trust and other Gurkha charities to discuss how this fund can be used most effectively to help address need and support wider settlement. Further meetings are due to take place over the next week. We will make a further announcement in due course.

Housing: Disadvantaged

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the effect of housing supply on levels of social exclusion; and what steps his Department plans to take to address such effects.

Grant Shapps: Good quality, suitable, and well located housing, is fundamentally important to social inclusion and social mobility. One of the most important things each generation can do for the next is to build high-quality homes that will stand the test of time. By the end of the last Government's tenure, however, housebuilding rates had reached lows not seen in peacetime since the 1920s. This is not sustainable and not fair on young people and families. This Government are putting their full weight behind efforts to help the housebuilding industry get back to working at its full capacity. “Laying The Foundations—The Government's Housing Strategy for England” was published on Monday 21 November. The strategy sets out a bold new approach to get the housing market moving again, whilst also laying the foundations for a more responsive, effective and stable housing market in the future.

Mobile Homes: Licensing

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 1045W, on mobile homes: licensing, whether he has held any discussions with Ministers of the Welsh Government on his plans to consult on measures to improve the licensing regime for mobile park homes.

Grant Shapps: The Department for Communities and Local Government has informed the Welsh Assembly Government of its plans to consult on the licensing regime for mobile home sites. Site licensing is a devolved matter and the consultation will extend to England only.

Mobile Homes: Licensing

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 1045W, on mobile homes: licensing, when he plans to undertake his consultation on measures to improve the licensing regime for mobile park homes.

Grant Shapps: I plan to publish the consultation paper in due course.

Rescue Services: Manpower

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) uniformed and (b) non-uniformed staff were employed in each fire and rescue service in England in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011 to date.

Bob Neill: Fire and rescue service operational statistics are published on my Department's website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/researchandstatistics/firestatistics/firerescue/

Written Questions: Government Responses

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer question 80597 tabled on 8 November 2011 for named day answer on 14 November 2011.

Greg Clark: Question 80597 was answered on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 59W.

TREASURY

Big Society Capital: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much is estimated to be in the dormant account fund of (a) Northern Rock, (b) Royal Bank of Scotland and (c) Lloyds TSB; and how much he estimates will be spent in Barnsley Central constituency.

Mark Hoban: The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act gives the Reclaim Fund responsibility for managing the dormant account funds, meeting customer reclaims and passing on surplus funds for reinvestment in the community. The Reclaim Fund collects dormant account funds and the Government does not determine the amounts that are retrieved from individual banks.
	The British Bankers' Association and the Building Societies Association have estimated that the current value of dormant accounts in the United Kingdom is £400 million. England has been apportioned 83.9% of dormant account funds released for reinvestment.

Big Society Capital: Charities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with bank foundations on charitable giving to arts and culture charities.

Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has not had any discussions with bank foundations specifically concerning charitable giving to arts and culture charities.
	As announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his first Budget, the Government have introduced the Bank Levy, a permanent levy on banks' balance sheets, to ensure they make a fair contribution in respect of the potential risks they pose to the UK financial system and wider economy.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the effect on the size of the block grant to Northern Ireland of a reduction in corporation tax to 12.5 per cent;
	(2)  if he will estimate the effect on the size of the block grant to Northern Ireland if corporation tax were reduced by (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) five and (e) eight per cent.

David Gauke: Initial estimates of the effect on the size of the block grant to Northern Ireland of a reduction in corporation tax were included in the Government's consultation paper Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy, published on 24 March 2011. However no decisions have been made on how the block grant adjustment would work if corporation tax were devolved.

Legal Opinion

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many times his Department sought legal advice from external counsel in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011;
	(2)  what the cost was of (a) internal and (b) external legal advice commissioned by his Department in the first six months of 2011;
	(3)  how many times his Department's legal section provided legal advice to Ministers in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011;
	(4)  how many officials in his Department were working in its legal section in June 2011; and how many staff were working in the legal departments of his Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies;
	(5)  how much his Department spent on (a) legal advice and (b) instructing counsel in (i) 2007, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) the first six months of 2011; how many times (A) his Department was taken to court and (B) a decision taken by his Department was subject to a judicial review; and what the outcome was of each such (1) case and (2) review;
	(6)  how many (a) statutory instruments, (b) ministerial orders and (c) other pieces of secondary legislation were issued by his Department in (i) 1990, (ii) 1995, (iii) each year since 1999 and (iv) 2011 to date.

Chloe Smith: The Treasury Solicitor has opened 47 cases on behalf of HM Treasury for the current financial year. Not all of these cases will involve civil litigation or judicial review proceedings, and counsel can also be engaged to provide advice without the formal opening of a case. HM Treasury does not keep a central record of each time external counsel is instructed, and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For the period April to September 2011 the total cost of legal advice, in terms of bills paid, was £1,351,558.76. This relates to costs paid to external advisers and to the Treasury Solicitor's Department (which provides the internal legal advisers to the Treasury as well as litigation services), and includes £79,096 paid by HM Treasury for advice obtained from counsel instructed on its behalf, by the Treasury Solicitor's Department (other than directly by Treasury legal advisers). However, HM Treasury records are collated per financial year and these figures may not include invoices not yet received or bills not yet paid.
	The total amounts spent on legal services in previous years, including advisory services and instructing counsel, are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			 2007-08 2,644,621.16 
			 2008-09 10,604,514.57 
			 2009-10 17,743,055.43 
			 2010-11 3,945,452.98 
		
	
	All the figures above relate to financial and not calendar years. For the years 2008-10, legal costs associated with banking interventions were fully reimbursed to the Treasury by the banks, thus the actual amount of net expenditure incurred by HM Treasury was substantially lower. The sums recovered from the banks are fully documented in HM Treasury's Resource Accounts.
	We do not separately record costs incurred instructing counsel and to provide the information requested to an appropriate level of accuracy would incur disproportionate costs.
	Legal advice to Ministers and officials is a regular function of the Treasury legal advisers. It is not possible to quantify the number of times legal advice has been provided to Ministers over any given period.
	The Treasury legal advisers are provided by the Treasury Solicitor's Department. In June 2011 there were 33 permanent legal staff working for HM Treasury (this covers both full-time and part-time staff). The Treasury legal advisers also provide legal services to the Treasury's agencies and non-departmental bodies but such entities may also commission external legal advice. HM Treasury does not have a central record of the number of staff its agencies and non-departmental bodies employ in their legal departments. The Asset Protection Agency had one permanent legal adviser, plus two secondees, in June 2011.
	HM Treasury does not record centrally the number of times it has been taken to court, the number of decisions taken that have been subject to judicial review or the outcome of each case. However, recorded case details are available publicly, for example from the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII), which can be found online at:
	http://www.bailii.org/
	The following table provides details of the number of HM Treasury statutory instruments (including ministerial orders):
	
		
			  Number of statutory instruments 
			 1990 32 
			 1995 30 
			 1999 35 
			 2000 35 
			 2001 110 
			 2002 93 
			 2003 49 
			 2004 59 
			 2005 53 
			 2006 26 
			 2007 39 
			 2008 44 
			 2009 74 
			 2010 32 
			 2011 to date 39

Economic Growth: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when the Government plans to publish its response to the consultation on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy;
	(2)  if he will publish the responses to his Department's consultation on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy.

David Gauke: The Government have announced that a joint ministerial working group on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy will be established, comprising Ministers of HM Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, to consider issues raised by the consultation.
	No decision has yet been made on whether or not to devolve corporation tax and a final decision is expected next year. This decision will be informed by the work developed by the joint ministerial working group.
	Further details of the Government's response to the consultation and a summary of responses received will be published later in the autumn.

Economic Growth: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers have had on the consultation on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy.

David Gauke: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), visited Northern Ireland on 17 June 2011 and discussed the Government's consultation on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy with members of the Northern Ireland Executive and the business community.
	I have had a series of meetings on this topic with members of the Executive and also attended the launch of the consultation in Northern Ireland. I also attended consultation events in London and Belfast where this issue was discussed with representatives of businesses and other interested parties.
	Additionally, Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Energy Supply

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he has met with representatives of (a) EDF-Energy, (b) RWE nPower, (c) Eon, (d) Scottish Power, (e) British Gas Centrica and (f) Scottish and Southern Energy since May 2010; and if he will publish minutes of those meetings.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Housing: Unemployment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to take steps to ensure that people who are unemployed are not refused home insurance due to their employment status.

Mark Hoban: As a rule, insurers use their claims experience and other industry-wide statistics to assess the risks posed by an individual and set the terms and price at which they will offer insurance cover. This can mean that where insurers think it relevant, people who are unemployed are offered more expensive cover or different terms.
	However, people who are unemployed should still be able to find insurance in the current market. For those who have difficulty the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) is able to advise on how best to look across the insurance market for appropriate cover and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers who can advise on the availability of appropriate insurance and trawl the market for the best available deals.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to introducing a mortgage relief scheme for first-time buyers or new build properties.

Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), keeps all taxes under review along Budget timelines.

PAYE: Pilot Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations are participating in the HM Revenue and Customs pilot of real-time information for PAYE; and what the expected duration is of the pilot.

David Gauke: The employers involved in the pilot are volunteers and have been chosen to be a representative group of organisations operating PAYE. They range in size and complexity from those with one employee to very large complex employers with many employees or pensioners. Those participating include local government banks, payroll bureaux and agents, retail and manufacturing, farmers, universities, colleges and schools, charities, hotels, film companies, software developers, pension providers and services companies. This is not an exhaustive list. It is not possible to name the organisations as those participating in the pilot have not given their consent to disclosure.
	The pilot is expected to last one year. The Department is exploring whether more employers and pension providers could be brought into RTI during 2012-13 if the pilot is working well.

Public Expenditure

Alistair Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of public spending per head of population in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in respect of (i) education, (ii) health, (iii) transport and (iv) policing.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The latest statistics on identifiable public expenditure by sub-function per head of population for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in tables B.5 to B.8 of the October 2011 National Statistics Public Expenditure Release published by Treasury. The figures are reproduced in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: Identifiable spending on selected services for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 
			 £ per head 
			   2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 England Education 1,179 1,261 1,338 1,424 1,446 
			  Health 1,515 1,631 1,749 1,877 1,900 
			  Transport 306 311 315 343 344 
			  Policing 248 250 270 276 272 
			        
		
	
	
		
			 Scotland Education 1,397 1,432 1,466 1,492 1,541 
			  Health 1,766 1,891 1,969 2,040 2,072 
			  Transport 529 551 529 562 536 
			  Policing 218 228 240 250 247 
			        
			 Wales Education 1,246 1,325 1,391 1,446 1,415 
			  Health 1,688 1,772 1,860 1,973 2,017 
			  Transport 300 314 344 384 400 
			  Policing 232 236 249 256 260 
			        
			 Northern Ireland Education 1,327 1,383 1,424 1,498 1,509 
			  Health 1,700 1,736 1,859 1,924 2,106 
			  Transport 222 296 305 310 360 
			  Policing 476 474 479 545 576 
			 Source: National Statistics

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of people who have benefited from the stamp duty relief on properties under £250,000 in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Aberconwy constituency.

Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced at the Budget that the outcome of a review of the stamp duty land tax relief for first time buyers will be announced in autumn 2011.

Tax Allowances: Travel

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees in the UK used (a) Cycle to Work schemes, (b) employer-provided buses and (c) tax-free parking in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: This information is not collected as there is no requirement for employers to report use of these benefits in kind to HM Revenue and Customs.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), on 10 February 2011, Official Report, column 408W, for further information on the Cycle to Work scheme.

Taxation

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that people who do not have internet access are able to obtain copies of their tax records by other means.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs are committed to continue providing permanent, dedicated support to customers who are unable to access our services online. This support may be provided, for example, through the use of intermediaries or alternative channels.
	Customers wishing to gain access to their tax records can do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act guidelines. Customers should address their request to the ‘Data Protection Officer', including enough details to enable us to verify their identity and locate the relevant information. Further information can be found by contacting HMRC and asking for a copy of leaflet DP/FS1 or on the HMRC website at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/dp-fs1.htm

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the variety of cultural venues in each region and their effect on private sector investment in arts organisations.

Edward Vaizey: We have made no such assessment. The key factor in determining private sector investment in arts organisations is strong leadership. We know there is scope to strengthen philanthropy and other forms of income generation across the country. It is for arts organisations to develop and cultivate support from a range of sources. In September this Department, along with Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, announced details of the £100 million Catalyst scheme to boost private giving to culture. This will enable arts and heritage organisations across the country to diversify the way they generate income, increase their fundraising potential and develop new ways to secure private giving.

Big Society Capital: Creative Industries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps is he taking to ensure that the arts and creative industries can make use of dormant account money when it is invested in the Big Society Bank.

Edward Vaizey: Big Society Capital (BSC, formerly referred to as the ‘Big Society Bank') set out in its outline proposal of May 2011, that it will use dormant account money to boost significantly the ability of the social sector to deal with social issues. BSC will act as a wholesale investor for social investment, investing capital in intermediaries so that they are able to invest in frontline organisations. There is no reason why intermediary organisations working in the arts and other creative sectors cannot apply to this fund, and we will be working with our public bodies to encourage them to do so.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for how many (a) days per week and (b) weeks per year on average the 89 unpaid interns of the National Museum of Science and Industry were employed from September 2009 to September 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) does not hold complete data on the number of days per week worked by each intern employed from September 2009 to September 2010, and is not able to obtain this data retrospectively. However, it is estimated the average number of days worked per week by each intern is 2.5. On average, interns were based at NMSI for a period of 26-weeks per year. Internships ranged from a five day placement to a yearlong research fellowship.

Gambling: Internet

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with (a) his EU counterparts and (b) governments of non-EU countries on the regulation of internet gambling.

John Penrose: I have been in contact with the governing authorities of Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Malta, the Isle of Man, Antigua and Barbuda, and Tasmania, to discuss and inform them of my remote gambling proposals, particularly in relation to the phasing out of the white list and the transitional arrangements.
	I also wrote to my counterparts in the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
	Last month I met the European Commission and discussed the remote gambling proposals on an informal basis. While in Brussels I also made a speech on Government policy in this area, which can be found on my Department's website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/ministers_speeches/8638.aspx

Independent Commercial Television Broadcast Sector

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to promote the independent commercial television broadcast sector.

Edward Vaizey: As we take forward the communications review, we will take into account the thoughts and concerns of the independent commercial television broadcast sector in developing our proposals.

Museums: Libraries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much his Department plans to spend on (a) museums and (b) libraries in each of the next four years;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on (a) museums and (b) libraries in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: The following tables show the amount of funding the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has spent on museums and libraries from 2006-07 to 2010-11, and how much it plans-to spend from 2011-12 to 2014-15. The tables reflect the grant-in-aid paid for the Department's national museums and the British Library from 2006-07 to 2010-11, and the funding allocated to these bodies in the October 2010 spending review settlement from 2011-12 to 2014-15. These figures can be seen on the Department's website at:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/
	Updates will be published periodically in the same location. The funding allocated programmes to support “museums and libraries—Renaissance in the Regions”, Strategic Commissioning and DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund from 2006-07 to 2014-15. The funding was allocated to the Department's grant-funded museums from 2006-07 to 2014-15.
	
		
			 Grant in  a id 
			 £ million 
			 Body 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 British Museum 42.929 44.893 50.943 48.348 46.343 
			 Natural History Museum 43.135 45.165 52.887 51.186 48.586 
			 Imperial War Museum 20.613 22.177 23.888 24.163 23.910 
			 National Gallery 23.985 25.597 26.369 27.287 28.201 
			 National Maritime Museum(1) 17.008 18.491 19.750 19.240 19.002 
			 National Museums Liverpool 21.203 22.326 22.488 23.643 23.712 
			 National Portrait Gallery 7.031 7.038 7.693 7.744 7.577 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry 37.329 38.484 39.158 40.608 40.153 
			 Tate Gallery 34.124 45.929 61.385 55.987 54.729 
			 Victoria and Albert Museum 39.112 42.262 44.860 44.761 44.318 
			 Wallace Collection 3.528 4.156 4.228 4.301 4.212 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 4.059 4.171 4.788 4.987 4.882 
			 Museum of London (transferred to GLA April 2008) 7.931 8.809 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Sir John Soane's Museum 1.115 1.339 1.339 1.181 1.169 
			 Horniman Museum 3.932 4.350 4.757 4.566 4.518 
			 Geffrye Museum 1.740 1.956 1.748 1.791 1.773 
			 Royal Armouries 7.814 8.917 8.264 8.474 8.389 
			 Total Museums 316.588 346.060 374.545 368.267 361.474 
			       
			 British Library 102.643 106.480 106.947 109.464 105.847 
			 (1) This include the ring-fenced allocation for National Historic Ships. 
		
	
	
		
			 Spending review settlement 
			 £ million 
			 Body 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 British Museum 54.664 44.016 43.393 43.267 
			 Natural History Museum 46.480 45.760 45.204 45.172 
			 Imperial War Museum 21.706 21.436 21.239 21.273 
			 National Gallery 26.744 26.320 25.980 25.911 
			 National Maritime Museum(1) 17.058 16.848 16.693 16.723 
			 National Museums Liverpool 21.875 21.561 21.323 21.327 
			 National Portrait Gallery 7.398 7.277 7.183 7.172 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry 37.582 37.026 36.602 36.596 
			 Tate Gallery 35.305 34.912 34.837 33.441 
		
	
	
		
			 Victoria and Albert Museum 41.355 40.705 40.203 40.167 
			 Wallace Collection 2.983 2.946 2.918 2.922 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 3.998 3.927 3.871 3.860 
			 Museum of London (transferred to GLA April 2008) n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 Sir John Soane's Museum 1.130 1.111 1.096 1.094 
			 Horniman Museum 4.275 4.199 4.139 4.127 
			 Geffrye Museum 1.674 1.645 1.621 1.616 
			 Royal Armouries 7.901 7.773 7.673 7.662 
			 Total Museums 332.128 317.462 313.975 312.330 
			      
			 British Library 107.473 96.287 93.544 93.407 
			 (1) This include the ring-fenced allocation for National Historic Ships. 
		
	
	
		
			 Allocation 
			 £ million 
			 Programme 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund(1) 2 2 2 2 2 n/a 2.000 n/a 2.000 
			 Renaissance in the Regions 32 45 46.215 47.463 47.04 45.567 44.725 44.050 43.914 
			 Strategic Commissioning 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.56 2.373 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (1) The DCMS/Wolfson Fund, financed equally by Government and the Wolfson Foundation, supports projects which improve the quality of displays, public spaces, collection interpretation and disabled access in museums and galleries across England. 
		
	
	
		
			 Allocation 
			 £ million 
			 Grants to smaller museums 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Design 0.483 0.503 0.414 0.425 0.424 0.328 0.257 0.202 0.163 
			 NCMME 2.528 2.809 2.731 2.805 2.794 2.707 2.657 2.616 2.608 
			 People's History 0.156 0.164 0.168 0.173 0.173 0.168 0.164 0.162 0.162 
			 Tyne and Wear 1.861 2.326 2.362 2.399 2.848 1.918 1.893 1.872 1.868 
			 Football Museum (ceased funding from 2010-11) 0.100 0.100 0.103 0.105 0.105 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total 5.128 5.902 5.778 5.907 6.344 5.121 4.971 4.852 4.801 
		
	
	This Department has policy responsibility for public libraries but core funding for public libraries is paid to the 151 library authorities in England as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
	Until October 2011 the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was responsible for library development and improvement. Grant-in-aid was used to deliver the Future Libraries Programme supporting 10 projects with a maximum of £10,000 per project to help library services face financial challenges.
	MLA's responsibility for libraries was transferred to Arts Council England (ACE) and on 9 November ACE launched a second Libraries Development Initiative. It will run between March 2012 and March 2013 supporting around 10 projects with a maximum of £20,000 per project to create vibrant, sustainable 21(st) century library service.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the 2012 Olympic athletes' village will be funded by (a) public investment and (b) private investment.

Hugh Robertson: The construction cost of the Olympic village is estimated at £1.1 billion. This includes Olympic related costs such as re-fitting the accommodation after the games and athlete use for long-term legacy occupation. All these costs are initially funded by the public investment. Of the 2,818 new homes being created, 1,379 have been sold to affordable housing provider Triathlon Homes, for £268 million and the remaining 1,439 homes were recently sold to Qatari Diar/Delancey (QDD) Joint Venture for £557.5 million. Triathlon's investment includes a grant of £110 million from the Homes and Communities Agency. These receipts of at least £826 million more than cover the normal construction and development costs of the village but not the abnormal costs of the village project, which include having to construct the whole development at one time for use by athletes at games-time, the need to hold all of the apartments unsold during game-time and the need to extensively refit the accommodation post-games from athletes use to residential use. It is important to note, the QDD agreement also provides for the public purse to benefit from a share in any profits arising from future improvements in the property markets. We cannot, therefore, assess the total cost of the village to the public purse at this time because we will recoup costs in the future. However, the overall financial outturn on the Olympic village is in line with previous forecasts and within the overall public sector funding package for the games.

Sport England: Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding Sport England allocated to voluntary sector or third sector organisations in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The information requested is not held by this Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of Sport England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Sport England to write direct to the hon. Member for Harrow West.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which regions the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Royal Air Force has recruited in each year from 2005 to 2011.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave on 23 November 2010, Official Report, column 211W, to the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson), and on 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 987W, to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Dr Whiteford).

Defence

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the UK retaining a full spectrum defence capability following the strategic defence and security review.

Philip Hammond: I refer the right hon. Member to page 10 of the Government's Response to the House of Commons Defence Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2010-12 (HC 1639), published on 10 November 2011.
	Copies of the response are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Manpower

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of staffing reductions on his Department's performance and productivity.

Philip Hammond: The Defence Transformation programme, which is taking forward the structural and organisational changes flowing from the strategic defence and security review and the Levene review, is intended to enable the Department to manage the impact of the planned staffing reductions by providing the mechanism to match resources and outputs.
	Priorities will be rigorously examined, non-essential work will be stopped, and other work will be done in different ways, including through outsourcing, organisational restructuring, and rationalisation. The single services are modelling their future manpower to minimise the effect on operational effectiveness.

Dubai

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which officials of his Ministry were present at the press conference in Dubai in June 2011 at which his predecessor answered questions on Libya, Syria and the UK strategic defence review.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 14 November 2011
	The previous Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), was accompanied during the media engagements in Dubai by a private secretary, and a special adviser from his private office. He was also supported by Her Majesty's ambassador to Dubai, the in-country Defence Attaché, and the embassy's media adviser.

Ex-servicemen: Mental Health

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department discusses regularly with the NHS trends in psychiatric problems experienced by former armed services personnel.

Philip Hammond: Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the UK Departments of Health meet regularly, via the Partnership Board, to discuss issues including the mental health of our former service personnel.
	At a local level, Defence officials meet regularly with their colleagues in the health services and devolved administrations to ensure our former service personnel receive the healthcare they are entitled to.

Gurkhas

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the cost of Gurkha recruitment has been in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how many Gurkhas have been recruited in Nepal in each of the last four years.

Andrew Robathan: The cost of Gurkha recruitment in each of the last four years was:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2007-08 2.4 
			 2008-09 2.2 
			 2009-10 2.5 
			 2010-11 2.5 
		
	
	The following numbers of Gurkhas have been recruited in Nepal in each of the last four years:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2007 230 
			 2008 230 
			 2009 176 
			 2010 176

Libya

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to provide long-term support to Libya.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a small Defence Advisory Team as part of the UK embassy in Tripoli.
	The UK is currently contributing £1.5 million to fund civilian experts assisting in a weapons disposal programme. As part of this commitment, the MOD has provided a small team of UK military specialists to work alongside the Libyans and United States in preventing the proliferation of surface to air missiles.
	We stand ready to respond to any formal request for defence and security assistance from the new Libyan Government and will ensure that any support is coordinated with key partners.

Met Office

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the capital receipt his Department is likely to receive following the transfer of the Met Office from his Department.

Andrew Robathan: The Met Office was transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 18 July 2011 as part of a wider machinery of government change which was undertaken as a first step to establishing a public data corporation (PDC). One of its aims is to create a vehicle to facilitate private investment. Proposals for a PDC are still under development and the shape and nature that the PDC takes will impact on the source and nature of any capital receipts realised by Government.

EDUCATION

Children: Disability

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to require schools to record whether a child has a disability.

Sarah Teather: Schools were asked to provide information on pupils with disabilities in January 2011 School Census returns on a voluntary basis. We have asked them to do likewise next year.
	We will then consider future disability data collection arrangements in light of experience over both years, alongside considering work by the Education, Schools and Children's Services Information Standards Board to create a standard for data collection across children's services and education.

Child: Protection

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the possible additional risk to child protection of the extension of the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance to (a) 25 to 34-year-olds who are (i) parents with part-custody of their children and (ii) women up until the latest stage of pregnancy and (b) other 25 to 34-year-olds; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not possible to assess any increased risk to children by extending the age threshold of the shared accommodation rate. The equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold, available on the DWP website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf
	contains estimates of the impacts of this measure at both Government office region and local authority area level but does not look at the implications for child protection.
	Further financial assistance is available from local authorities through discretionary housing payments when they consider that additional help with housing costs is needed. Local authorities often award such payments to single pregnant women to cover a temporary housing benefit shortfall on moving into larger accommodation in anticipation of the birth of their child.

Cultural Education Review

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost to the public purse of the Independent Review of Cultural Education is; and on what date the report of the review is to be published.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	Darren Henley is working on the cultural review on a voluntary basis, with the support of officials from both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education. The report will be published shortly.

Drugs: Health Education

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's expenditure was on the Frank drug awareness campaign in each year since its introduction.

Sarah Teather: Information on the amount of funding provided by the Department for Education is only available from the accounting year 2006-07. The amounts allocated to the service are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2006-07 984,177 
			 2007-08 1,501,596 
			 2008-09 1,543,273 
			 2009-10 1,414,299 
			 2010-11 4,631 
		
	
	This funding was a contribution to the overall FRANK campaign.

First Aid: Education

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in how many schools first aid is taught to pupils.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, schools teach first aid within non-statutory personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils are taught how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations and how to use emergency and basic first aid.
	We are reviewing personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, including sex and relationships education. The internal review is considering how to improve the quality of teaching; the core outcomes which we expect PSHE to achieve; and the core of knowledge and awareness that the Government should expect pupils to acquire at school. It is looking at existing research and also welcomes submissions of evidence and good practice before 30 November this year.

Life Skills

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to take any steps to promote Drinkaware's In:tuition life skills programme.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 7 November 2011
	It is not the role of Government to promote particular programmes. However, the work of the Alcohol Network of the Public Health Responsibility Deal launched on 15 March 2011 has, as one of its aims, support for the education of young people about the harms of alcohol misuse and the importance of delaying the onset of drinking. The Alcohol Network sub-group responsible for developing the pledge which addresses this issue is currently considering appropriate evidence-based programmes which look to be best placed to support this aim.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils in each education authority area with selective grammar schools receives the pupil premium in (a) each of the grammar schools and (b) each of the other secondary schools in the area.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 21 October 2011
	Information on the percentage of pupils eligible for the deprivation pupil premium in each local authority with at least one grammar school has been placed in the House Libraries for (a) each grammar school and (b) other state-funded secondary schools in those authorities.
	Information on the numbers of service children and looked-after children eligible for the pupil premium is not released at school level.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding has been allocated to schools to pay for day release of PE teachers to organise sport in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	Each eligible school will receive £7,600 per year in the two academic years 2011/12 and 2012/13 to release a PE teacher for one day a week to work with local primary schools to increase opportunities in competitive sport and to encourage greater take up of the school games.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young ambassadors have taken part in organising sporting activities in each local authority area in each school year since 2006-07; how many he anticipates will take part in 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The Department does not collect this information. The role of young ambassadors is to act as advocates and role models by using the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage other young people to take up sport and physical activity. This includes: increasing participation in school sport; promoting healthy lifestyles; promoting the Olympic and Paralympic values; and supporting the delivery of the school games. As part of this work, many young ambassadors will help to organise sporting activities.

Teachers: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of active members of the teachers' pension scheme earn up to £15,000 per annum.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 15 November 2011
	Figures provided by teachers' pension show that as of 31 March 2011 there were 92,578 active members with salaries up to £15,000.

Teachers: Pensions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people were making contributions to the teachers' pension scheme on the most recent date for which figures are available; and how many people were making such contributions 12 months previously.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The “Teachers' Pensions Scheme (England and Wales) Annual Accounts” provide the most current full year figures for active membership of the teachers' pension scheme.
	The 2010-11 accounts show that as of 31 March 2010 there were 658,351 active members and as of 31 March 2009 there were 628,344 active members.

Teachers: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of active members of the teachers' pension scheme earning less than £15,000 per year (a) are female and (b) work part-time.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	In the financial year 2010-11 there were 92,578 active members with salaries up to £15,000. Of these 73,283, were female and 92,284 worked part-time.

Teachers: Pensions

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of a teacher's pensionable pay is deducted in pension contributions.

Nick Gibb: The current employee contribution to the teachers' pension scheme is 6.4% of pensionable salary. The Department is currently considering responses to its recent consultation to increase employee contributions to the TPS from 1 April 2012. The increases would average 3.2% but would be tiered, so that those who earn more will pay more and the lowest earners will be protected.

Vocational Education

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the proportion of young people aged 14 to 16 years who would benefit from receiving vocational education for more than 20 per cent. of their school time.

Nick Gibb: The Wolf review of vocational education made recommendations for Government to improve the quality of vocational education offered to 14 to 16-year-olds, wherever they take their education. It noted that, in a normal school setting, the vocational component of students' programmes should not be expected to exceed around 20% of teaching time, but did not recommend any specific action to restrict how much time should be devoted to vocational programmes for some, or all, students.
	On 12 May the Government response to the Wolf review accepted all the recommendations in full, and set out a timeline for implementing the recommendations.
	The Wolf report on vocational education and the Government response, including key implementation milestones, can be found here:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/16to19/qualificationsandlearning/a0074953/review-of-vocational-education-the-wolf-report

Written Questions: Government Responses

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to answer Question 80983 tabled on 9 November 2011 for named day answer on 14 November 2011.

Tim Loughton: Parliamentary question 80983 was replied to on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 70W.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Cluster Munitions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy not to invite to UK arms trade events any country that has not signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions and which either has stockpiles of cluster munitions, or has companies involved in the manufacture or trade in cluster munitions or components; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: This Government considers carefully which overseas Governments may receive invitations to send official delegations to UK defence and security exhibitions. All relevant factors are taken into consideration.

EU Social Chapter

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of proposals to withdraw from the European Social Chapter; and if he will place any such assessment in the Library.

Edward Davey: None. There is no distinct “European Social Chapter”; the EU's provisions for social and related matters are integrated into the treaties.

EU Social Chapter

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received since May 2010 calling for the UK to withdraw from the European Social Chapter; and if he will place a copy of any such representations in the Library.

Edward Davey: There is no distinct “European Social Chapter”; the EU's provisions for social and related matters are integrated into the treaties. This Department regularly receives representations from stakeholders on matters concerning aspects of European employment law. It would not be practical to deposit all such representations in the Libraries of the House.

European Agency and Temporary Workers Directive

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the legal opinion in respect of the May 2008 agreement between the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress regarding the implementation of the regulations pertaining to the European agency and temporary workers directive and the Government's options on amending these; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: I will not be disclosing any legal advice relating to the May 2008 agreement between the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress due to legal professional privilege.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement I made on 19 October 2010, Official Report, columns 49-50WS, which sets out the reason for my decision not to amend the regulations prior to implementation due to the clear risk of undermining the 12-week qualifying period.

Export Controls

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to promote the addition of (a) electric-shock stun-cuffs and other body worn electric-shock devices and (b) spiked batons and spiked shields to the list of items in Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment or torture that are prohibited from import or export; and if he will promote inclusion in the regulation of enhanced controls on drugs used for carrying out the death penalty by lethal injection; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Committee for Common Rules for Exports of Products (Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005) met on 16 November 2011 to discuss the Commission's proposals to add electric-shock cuffs and other body worn electric-shock devices and spiked batons to the list of items whose import and export are prohibited, and to add specified drugs that could be used for the purposes of execution by lethal injection to the list of items for which an export licence is required. The Government supported the proposals. Subject to final approval of the member states the Commission indicated that they intend to bring the amendments into force before the end of this year.

Export Credits Guarantees

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to work with the Paris Club to carry out a public audit of the debt owed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD); and if he will undertake an immediate review of ECGD-backed loans for arms sales to undemocratic governments.

Edward Davey: The Government have no plans to carry out an audit of debts owed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) or undertake a review of ECGD support for defence exports. UK Export Finance does not offer support for defence exports unless the Export Control Organisation (ECO) of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is willing to issue an export licence where this is required. The ECO is the body that decides whether a defence export is permissible, consistent with relevant legislation and Government policy. In doing so, it takes account of a number of factors, including international relations, security and human rights. Relevant departments across Whitehall, but not including UK Export Finance, are involved in its decision-taking.

Health: Working Hours

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on productivity of changes in the level of occupational health research.

David Willetts: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not made any assessment on the effect of changes in the level of occupational health research on productivity. The level of funding by the Medical Research Council, one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research, on occupational health research has not changed significantly over the past five years.

Local Economic Partnership

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget is for each local economic partnership covering (a) Birmingham, (b) Newcastle, (c) Wakefield, (d) Manchester, (e) Leeds, (f) Liverpool, (g) Coventry, (h) Bristol, (i) Sheffield, (j) Bradford, (k) Leicester and (l) Nottingham for each of the next five years.

Mark Prisk: Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) can draw on a variety of funding sources, including from local authorities and other partners. In relation to central Government funding LEPs can apply for money to support their development through this Department's Capacity and Start-up Funds. They were all also recently awarded an indicative allocation from the Growing Places Fund.
	LEPs can also apply for funding to support specific programmes or projects, for example, the Regional Growth Fund or through the Technology Strategy Board. Partnerships can also access European funding streams or may receive financial support from local authorities.
	The Department has made no projections as to how much funding each local enterprise partnership will receive over the next five years.

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had with National Savings and Investment on its decision to stop selling its products through the Post Office network.

Edward Davey: National Savings and Investments (NS&I) is an executive agency of Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT). As such, the Department has held discussions with both NS&I and HMT on the future provision of NS&I products through the Post Office network.

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the monetary value of National Savings and Investment's contract with Post Office Ltd in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on the viability of the Post Office network of the decision by National Savings and Investment to stop selling products through the Post Office;
	(3)  whether Premium Bonds will continue to be offered through the Post Office following the withdrawal of National Savings and Investments products;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the monetary value of sales commission on National Savings and Investments products for the Post Office in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: Information relating to contractual arrangements and the data requested is an operational matter for the Post Office, taking account of their commercial relationship National Savings and Investments. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of National Savings and Investments products were managed by (a) post, (b) telephone, (c) online and (d) through post offices in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The proportion of National Savings and Investments products transacted by (a) post, (b) telephone, (c) online and (d) through post offices from 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2011 by their customers is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 By post to NS&I 43 
			 Telephone 9 
			 Online 18 
			 Over the counter at the post office 18 
			 Picking up a brochure at PO, and sending application to NS&I 19 
		
	
	The percentage figures do not sum to 100% because customers may have used more than one channel to transact with NS&I during the year as other available sales or transaction channels are available, eg, BACS payments or by using ATMs.

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the monetary value he puts on National Savings and Investments transactions administered through the post office network in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	In the financial year 2010-11, £3.06 billion of NS&I sales were made at post office counters and £2.03 billion of NS&I sales were made by customers picking up an NS&I brochure at a post office and then sending this directly to NS&I. £227.8 million of repayments were made via the Post Office.
	Over the same period £3.12 billion of sales were made by customers directly via NS&I’s website; £1.95 billion directly with NS&I by telephone; and £1.78 billion directly with NS&I by post.

Postal Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what additional services the Government has begun to provide through the Post Office network as part of its objective to make the network a front office for Government since May 2010.

Edward Davey: This Government were clear in their November 2010 policy statement that it supports Post Office Ltd's ambition to provide more services on behalf of local and national Government.
	Post Office Ltd has shown good progress against this ambition. For example, it has recently begun providing services to Westminster council after bidding successfully for a contract for a number of ‘front office’ services; it has worked with The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on three pilots; and has recently begun providing Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks on behalf of the Public Carriage Office. It has also been successful in securing additional services which have not yet gone live—for example, face-to-face registrations for some local authority staff.

Science: Inflation

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effect of inflation on his Department's science budget.

David Willetts: At the time of the settlement, the Government were using the GDP deflator which came close to 10% by the end of the last spending review period in 2010. General inflation forecasts will vary over time and calculations of specific inflation rates in particular sectors will give variations around those forecasts.
	The Government have also set efficiency targets for the Science and Research budget. These savings will total £324 million by the last year of the spending review period for 2011-15. Given the ring-fenced position of the Science and Research resource budget, these savings will be reinvested in science and research and will allow further spend on the highest priorities. This equates to about 7% of savings.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of active members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme earning less than £15,000 per year (a) are female and (b) work part-time.

Francis Maude: holding answer 22 November 2011
	There are 57,904 female active members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), earning less than £15,000 per year, and of those 53,833 work part-time. Membership numbers of the PCSPS and a breakdown between active, deferred and pensioner members can be found in Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts 2009-10, copies of which are in the Library.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of active members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme earn no more than £15,000 per year.

Francis Maude: holding answer 22 November 2011
	There are 70,732 active members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), earning no more than £15,000 per year. Membership numbers of the PCSPS and a breakdown between active, deferred and pensioner members can be found in Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts 2009-10, copies of which are in the Library.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of a civil servant's pay is deducted in pension contributions.

Francis Maude: Pensions, including the level of employee contribution, form part of the remuneration package. Remuneration for the civil service is intended to be sufficient to attract and retain staff while providing good value for money to the taxpayer.
	Civil servants pay pension contributions of either 1.5% or 3.5% of pay, depending on which section of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme they are a member of. The Government have already announced that they intend to increase contributions by an average of 3.2% of pay, and a consultation closed on 20 October on the first year of increases to apply from April 2012.

Metastatic Melanoma

Pauline Latham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people died from metastatic melanoma by each (a) cancer network and (b) primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people died from metastatic melanoma by each (a) cancer network and (b) primary care trust in each year since 1997 (82638)
	It is not possible to identify the stage of a tumour (whether it was localised or had spread to other parts of the body) from the information collected at death registration. However, it is likely that almost all deaths from malignant melanoma are due to metastatic disease.
	Tables 1 and 2 provide the number of deaths where malignant melanoma of skin was the underlying cause of death for (a) cancer networks (Table 1) and (b) primary care organisations (Table 2) in England, for 1997 to 2010 (the latest year available).
	Deaths from melanomas of the skin of genital organs and melanomas of sites other than the skin cannot be identified separately in mortality data and are therefore excluded from the figures in Tables 1 and 2. However, the number of such deaths is likely to be relatively small.
	Copies of Tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons library.

Young People: Voluntary Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of those starting National Citizen Service did not complete their full course; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: An independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service pilot programme is currently collecting and analysing data on participation rates across the twelve pilot schemes in 2011.
	This work will conclude shortly. I will then be able to provide the House with a full update.

HEALTH

Drug and Alcohol: Dependent Mothers

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were born to (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-dependent mothers by region in each of the last 10 years.

Anne Milton: The following tables provide data on delivery episodes for children born to (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-dependent mother, by strategic health authority of residence for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10.
	
		
			 Count of deliveries by drug dependent mothers (excluding alcohol and tobacco) by strategic health authority of residence, 2005-06 to 2000-01 
			 Code Strategic health authority 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic HA 42 31 41 31 19 11 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic HA 2 3 3 2 1 0 
			 Q03 Essex Strategic HA 10 16 11 6 1 2 
			 Q04 North West London Strategic HA 8 7 6 6 4 5 
			 Q05 North Central London Strategic HA 15 15 3 10 2 0 
			 Q06 North East London Strategic HA 16 6 6 7 8 1 
			 Q07 South East London Strategic HA 7 2 8 4 6 2 
			 Q08 South West London Strategic HA 3 8 7 6 5 4 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic HA 59 53 39 22 12 7 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic HA 85 73 52 28 23 24 
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic HA 25 20 22 12 5 3 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire Strategic HA 45 33 45 39 3 2 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic HA 55 80 68 41 6 4 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester Strategic HA 106 85 78 21 8 11 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic HA 101 111 64 59 26 11 
			 Q16 Thames Valley Strategic HA 16 17 14 11 9 7 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic HA 9 9 8 1 1 0 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway Strategic HA 16 21 20 23 4 7 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex Strategic HA 42 32 33 21 4 8 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic HA 37 38 36 26 0 0 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula Strategic HA 19 16 15 9 1 2 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset Strategic HA 4 8 5 11 4 4 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire Strategic HA 113 111 75 59 32 38 
		
	
	
		
			 Q24 Trent Strategic HA 51 58 44 46 21 12 
			 025 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic HA 15 20 28 13 11 7 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic HA 65 55 43 28 1 2 
			 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic HA 158 135 80 42 5 7 
			 Q28 West Midlands South Strategic HA 35 32 18 8 0 1 
			  Other/unknown 13 12 6 14 1 2 
			  Total 1,175 1,109 878 607 223 184 
		
	
	
		
			 Count of deliveries by drug dependent mothers (excluding alcohol and tobacco) by strategic health authority of residence, 2009-10 to 2006-07 
			 Code Strategic health authority 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 
			 Q30 North East Strategic Health Authority 132 111 125 157 
			 031 North West Strategic Health Authority 302 245 273 296 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority 282 242 250 215 
			 Q33 East Midland Strategic Health Authority 165 132 144 78 
			 Q34 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority 300 291 298 274 
			 035 East of England Strategic Health Authority 80 75 61 74 
			 Q36 London Strategic Health Authority 90 62 62 37 
			 Q37 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority 67 60 54 45 
			 Q38 South Central Strategic Health Authority 48 35 28 22 
			 Q39 South West Strategic Health Authority 112 85 63 60 
			  Other/unknown 13 14 24 21 
			  Total 1,591 1,352 1,382 1,279 
		
	
	
		
			 Count of deliveries by alcohol dependent mothers strategic health authority of residence, 2000-01 to 2005-06 
			 Code Strategic health authority 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic HA 1 2 2 2 0 2 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic HA 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Q03 Essex Strategic HA 1 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Q04 North West London Strategic HA 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Q05 North Central London Strategic HA 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Q06 North East London Strategic HA 1 1 0 0 1 1 
			 O07 South East London Strategic HA 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Q08 South West London Strategic HA 1 1 1 1 2 0 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic HA 4 2 5 0 0 0 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic HA 2 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic HA 3 2 2 0 0 0 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire Strategic HA 1 0 3 0 0 0 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic HA 4 2 0 1 0 0 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester Strategic HA 4 9 2 2 0 0 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic HA 4 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Q16 Thames Valley Strategic HA 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic HA 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway Strategic HA 2 5 1 1 2 0 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex Strategic HA 0 1 3 3 1 0 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic HA 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula Strategic HA 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset Strategic HA 0 0 1 1 0 0 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire Strategic HA 19 4 4 1 1 2 
			 Q24 Trent Strategic HA 3 2 3 1 5 0 
			 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic HA 1  1 0 1 1 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic HA 0 4 0 2 1 0 
			 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic HA 4 3 0 3 2 0 
			 Q28 West Midlands South Strategic HA 3 2 1 0 0 0 
			  Other/Unknown 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			  Total 62 49 31 22 18 9 
		
	
	
		
			 Count of deliveries by alcohol dependent mothers strategic health authority of residence, 2009-10 to 2006-07 
			 Code Strategic health authority 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 
			 Q30 North East Strategic Health Authority 15 13 23 16 
			 Q31 North West Strategic Health Authority 21 18 20 12 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority 15 21 22 16 
			 033 East Midland Strategic Health Authority 7 7 8 7 
			 Q34 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority 10 17 9 10 
			 Q35 East of England Strategic Health Authority 6 5 2 5 
			 036 London Strategic Health Authority 14 6 5 8 
			 Q37 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority 8 4 6 4 
			 Q38 South Central Strategic Health Authority 3 4 1 1 
			 Q39 South West Strategic Health Authority 7 3 5 3 
			  Other/unknown 1 2 0 0 
			  Total 107 100 101 82 
			 Notes: 1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Type of episode used: 2 = Delivery episode 5 = Other delivery event 2. Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 3. All Diagnoses count of episodes ICD-10 code used: Z37. Outcome of delivery (must always been found in the first secondary position) F10.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol, dependence syndrome F11.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of opioids, dependence syndrome F12.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids, dependence syndrome F13.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of sedatives or hypnotics, dependence syndrome F14.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to. use of cocaine, dependence syndrome F15.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of other stimulants, including caffeine, dependence syndrome F16.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of hallucinogens, dependence syndrome F18.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of volatile solvents, dependence syndrome F19.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances, dependence syndrome The above codes indicate addiction to all types of drugs. For example F11.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of opioids, would include addiction to Heroin and also Opioids found in prescription drugs. Code F19.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances is only used when patterns of psychoactive substance-taking are chaotic and indiscriminate or when the contributions of different psychoactive substances are inextricably mixed. 4. SHA/PCT of residence The strategic health authority (SHA) or primary care trust (PCX) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment. 5. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 6. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 7. Activity included Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 8.For all years the total number of cases is higher when looking at the total broken down by drug use compared to the drug grouping figures. This is because there will be several cases where the mother has been diagnosed as using more than one type of drug and those drugs have been recognised. It should be noted that count of deliveries will not give a full count of births, as twins would count as only one delivery. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Dental Services: Finance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was allocated to NHS dental services in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The primary care dental allocations for the last five years, plus the current year, are as set out in the following table. These are net of income from dental charges paid by patients, which are retained locally by primary care trusts (PCTs) to supplement the resources available for dentistry. PCTs may also dedicate some of their other national health service resources to dentistry if they consider this an appropriate local priority. Actual expenditure levels are determined by the pattern and type of services commissioned by each PCT and are recorded in the notes to PCT accounts.
	
		
			 Primary dental service net funding allocations 
			  Net allocations (£ million) 
			 2007-08 1,872.44 
			 2008-09 2,081.00 
			 2009-10 2,257.00 
			 2010-11 2,269.95 
			 2011-12 2,318.54 
			 Note: For the years up until 2011-12 the dental primary care allocation included funding for dental vocational trainees. For 2011-12 this funding element, some £81 million net of patient charges, was separately allocated as part of a larger regional workforce funding stream. To allow comparisons, this has been included in the national figures above.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) cost, (b) date of commencement and (c) duration is of each private finance initiative contract managed by his Department.

Simon Burns: Information on signed private finance initiative (PFI) projects that were signed prior to 16 March 2011 is available on the Treasury's website at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
	No national health service PFI projects have been signed since 16 March 2011.
	In addition to listing the project name and responsible department the information available includes the capital value of the asset and associated unitary charge payments, the date the contract was signed and the operational period of the contract.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to support the establishment of citizen commissions to advise, report and make decisions on issues affecting people with diabetes as part of his proposed health and wellbeing boards; and if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that there is adequate youth representation on such commissions and boards. [R]

Paul Burstow: Health and wellbeing boards will promote joined-up commissioning that will support integrated provision of services across health, public health and social care. This should mean that groups such as diabetes service users should experience health and care services that are better joined up and better meet their needs as individuals.
	Health and wellbeing boards will have a legal duty to involve users and the public when developing the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and joint health and wellbeing strategy and to pay due regard to the public sector Equality Duty. We also expect local HealthWatch organisations to use their membership on health and wellbeing boards to play a role in ensuring the voices of the whole community including young people are heard and fed into the work of the boards. We are exploring with early implementer health and wellbeing boards how they can embed public engagement in their work, including with young people, and with some HealthWatch pathfinders who are focusing on how local HealthWatch can be most effective in understanding and representing the voice of the whole community including young people.

Diabetes: Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure sufficient numbers of paediatric diabetes specialist nurses and diabetes nurses to meet the needs of people with diabetes. [R]

Simon Burns: Workforce planning is a matter for local national health service organisations. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will commission the required number of training places to develop the workforce to meet those needs.
	A safety and quality assurance process has been developed to ensure that any significant change proposed in the clinical workforce has involved clinicians at all levels, maximising on their engagement, leadership and sign off.

Diabetes: Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training his Department provides to (a) diabetes specialist nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other healthcare professionals on provision of support and medical assistance to adolescents and young adults with diabetes. [R]

Anne Milton: The content and standard of health care training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies for the professions concerned. Through their role as the custodians of standards in education and practice, these organisations are committed to ensuring high quality patient care is delivered by health professionals and that health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice, including diabetes.

Diabetes: Nurses

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to develop and implement a standardised national competency framework for diabetes specialist nurses. [R]

Anne Milton: It is the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to set standards of education, training, conduct and performance so that nurses and midwives can deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers. Higher Educational Institutes are responsible for running educational programmes which are approved by the NMC. Within this framework employers can expand nursing practice.
	In addition to the responsibilities of the NMC, from 1 April 2013, subject to parliamentary approval, Health Education England will bring together all the relevant parties, particularly employers, to oversee and shape the development of the health and care workforce and to promote high quality education and training which is responsive to the changing needs of patients and local communities.
	The Government consider that diabetes specialist nurses are an essential part of the diabetes specialist team and have a valuable part to play in supporting people with diabetes. It is local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local populations, that are best placed to determine the work force required to deliver safe patient care within their available resources.

Diabetes: Nurses

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce a separate tariff for (a) initiation of patients onto insulin pumps and insulin therapy, (b) commencing blood glucose monitoring and (c) other procedures carried out by diabetes specialist nurses and not currently recognised in existing payment mechanisms. [R]

Simon Burns: There is currently a non-mandatory best practice tariff for paediatric diabetes. Details can be found in the “Payment by Results Guidance for 2011-12”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This is being further developed for 2012-13. It has been designed to support access to consistent high quality care.
	A range of other activities relating to the provision of care for diabetes patients are covered by the national mandatory tariff. Activity that is outside the scope of the tariff, such as services provided in a community setting, are reimbursed through prices that are agreed locally.
	Insulin pumps are currently excluded from tariff and paid for at locally negotiated prices to ensure that providers are adequately reimbursed.
	We are considering the development of a best practice tariff for pump therapy.

Dialysis Machines

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has for the long-term provision of dialysis facilities.

Simon Burns: Ensuring that there is sufficient capacity to meet demand for dialysis is the responsibility of specialised national health service commissioners who commission these services.

Dialysis Machines

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any plans to increase the provision and availability of home dialysis equipment.

Simon Burns: Home therapies (peritoneal dialysis and home haemodialysis) offer huge benefits for kidney patients and are more cost-effective treatments than haemodialysis in a hospital or satellite unit. However, they are not suited to everybody. We are working to develop a tariff to incentivise offering patients the choice of home haemodialysis where appropriate and we expect that the tariff price will include an element for capital costs such as the cost of home dialysis machines.

Food: Taxation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the merits of applying additional taxation to foods which are high in saturated fats.

Anne Milton: We are keeping the international evidence on the impact of fiscal measures under review.

General Practitioners

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that his Department's guidance on removing patients from GP lists is followed by GPs.

Simon Burns: The procedures which general practitioner (GP) contractors must follow when considering removal of a patient from their list are set out in regulations and are included in their national health service contract with their primary care trust. It is the responsibility of the primary care trust to take any resulting action should a contractor not follow these procedures.
	Under the terms of its contract, a GP practice may remove any patient from its list of NHS patients if it believes that it has reasonable grounds for doing so, for example, if a patient has moved out of the practice area or has been violent.
	No one should be left without access to a GP practice. If anyone who has been removed from a practice list has difficulty in finding another practice, the primary care trust may assign them to another GP contractor's list.

General Practitioners

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were registered with GPs in (a) NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent, (b) NHS Medway, (c) NHS West Kent and (d) England in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Simon Burns: The information requested is set out in the following table, which has been supplied by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care:
	
		
			 GP registered patients in selected primary care trusts (PCTs) in England as at 2008-10 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 752,151 763,052 769,742 
			 Medway PCT 274,190 280,008 281,320 
			 West Kent PCT 695,807 700,851 707,200 
			 England 53,944,734 54,609,309 55,019,190

Health and Social Care Bill 2010-12

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Information Commissioner's recent ruling on his Department's strategic risk register for the Health and Social Care Bill, if he will publish the register (a) immediately or (b) before the deadline for any related amendments to be tabled for the Lords Report Stage of the Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November 2011 to require the release of the register, and expects to respond by early December.

Health Professions: Pay

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid to suspended medical staff in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the form requested. According to data held by the National Clinical Assessment Service, the number of doctors who were excluded or suspended at the end of each of the last five financial years, together with estimates of the number of working weeks lost as a result, were as follows:
	
		
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008- 09 2009- 10 2010- 11 
			 Total number of exclusions and suspensions(1) at end March 102 107 106 107 94 
			 Estimated number of working weeks lost 5,370 5,420 5,930 6,060 5,220 
			 (1) Doctors in the hospital and community health service (exclusions) and in general practice (suspensions) in England

Injuries: Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether data on the cost to the public purse of treating dog attacks is held by individual health trusts;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of long-term trends in the cost to the public purse of treating injuries caused by dog attacks.

Simon Burns: The Department does not require individual national health service trusts to report on costs associated with treating patients admitted to hospital as a result of a dog attack. However, the hon. Member may wish to contact trusts directly to confirm whether they hold this information.
	The Department has not made an assessment of trends in respect of the costs of treating these injuries. However, Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been working closely with Government and non-Government organisations to prepare a package of measures to encourage more responsible dog ownership and reduce dog attacks. This work is nearing completion and an announcement will be made by that Department shortly.

Mercury: Health Hazards

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of any ban on the use of dental amalgam; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Simon Burns: A ban would be detrimental to the delivery of high-quality dental services particularly where patients required replacement of existing amalgam fillings. In February 2009, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment programme agreed on the need to develop a global legally binding instrument that
	“protects human health and the global environment from the release of mercury and its compounds by minimising and, where feasible, ultimately eliminating global anthropogenic release to air water and land”.
	The work to prepare this instrument is being undertaken by an intergovernmental negotiating committee. We are seeking to reach an agreement by which dental amalgam will continue to be available within any additional measures to control the disposal of waste and emissions.

Muscular Dystrophy

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on progress in setting up a managed clinical network for neuromuscular conditions in each NHS region; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: During 2010-11, the 10 regional Specialised Commissioning Groups (SCGs) and National Specialised Commissioning team (NSCT) collaborated to produce a detailed work plan for neuromuscular services.
	This neuromuscular workstream is led by East of England SCG working with the individual SCG/NSCT neuromuscular leads. In July, a more formal group was established and the existing work plan was enlarged to include communications and engagement.
	A workshop to which patients, carers and support organisations have been invited is scheduled for later this year.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to concerns about adverse experiences of individual NHS staff and instances where an NHS trust has followed discipline or dismissal of a staff member by secret settlements with compromise agreement gagging provision; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: All non-contractual 'special' severance payments for employees or ex employees, who may have been dismissed following disciplinary action, must be approved by HM Treasury. NHS trusts are required to ensure that any proposals to make such payments are sent to the Department of Health initially for scrutiny.
	The use of a confidentiality clause within a compromise agreement or a contract of employment is void insofar as it purports to preclude the employee from making a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) i.e. the protection of 'whistle blowers'. Therefore, payments made to employees under a compromise agreement with a confidentiality clause that seeks to prevent an employee or an ex employee from making a disclosure under PIDA would be void.
	Before an employee considers signing a compromise agreement, which may or may not contain a confidentiality clause, the employer is required to pay for the employee to have independent legal advice on the terms of the agreement.

NHS: Pay

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS employees of each sex had an annual salary (a) below £15,000 per year and (b) between £15,000 and £21,000 per year in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: Validated information to this level of detail is not held centrally. However, it is possible to make the following estimates using the information available.
	The number of employees with a salary below £15,000 per year is estimated at around 95,000. Of which, around 72,000 are female and around 23,000 are male.
	The number of employees with salary between £15,000 and £21,000 per year is estimated at around 320,000. Of which, around 260,000 are female and around 60,000 are male.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are as of June 2011.
	2. Estimates relate to headcount NHS Hospital and Community Health Services staff. Bank staff are not considered.
	3. ‘Salary’ is taken to be full-time equivalent basic pay per year. This is consistent with the criteria used to identify lower earners eligible for the minimum £250 pay awards.
	4. Numbers in each salary band are estimated using unvalidated data on the distribution of staff across agenda for change payscale points from the electronic staff record (ESR) data warehouse.
	5. The ESR data warehouse is a monthly snapshot of the live ESR system, which is a payroll and human resources system containing staff records for NHS employed staff in England.
	It contains records on all NHS staff except for those in the following groups:
	General practitioners (GPs), GP practice staff and other primary care providers e.g. dentists;
	Foundation Trusts (Moorfields Eye hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust);
	and those staff groups affected by Transforming Community Services where the service is now provided by a non-NHS organisation.

NHS: Pensions

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS employees have received more than £30,800 in employer pension contributions in each financial year since 1997.

Simon Burns: Reliable information, is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

NHS: Publications

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that information for patients is provided in accessible formats for (a) non-English speakers, (b) partially-sighted people and (c) those with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department recognises the benefits of good quality accessible information for patients. The national health service, third parties performing public functions on its behalf and the Department are already subject to the public sector equality duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 which requires public authorities to pay due regard to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity. In practice this means that the Department and NHS organisations provide information to patients in alternative formats and languages where appropriate.
	As part of the Department's wider ambition to give people more information and control over their care, our consultation document “Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution”, published in October 2010, sought views on how to improve the accessibility of information to patients, including those requiring information in languages other than English and those using learning disabilities services. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The Department's Information Strategy will respond to that consultation and is planned to be published in the winter.

NHS: Reorganisation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's risk assessment of the reforms proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill.

Simon Burns: Following a Freedom of Information request to release the Transition risk register and a decision by the Department to withhold it, the Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November 2011 to require its release, and expects to respond by early December.
	The Department published Impact Assessments accompanying the Health and Social Care Bill in January 2011, which were revised in September 2011 ('Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, Health and Social Care Bill 2011 Impact Assessments'). These included an assessment of risk.

NHS: Reorganisation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the Information Commissioner's decision on the disclosure of his Department's risk assessment of the reforms proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill;
	(2)  whether he plans to comply with the Information Commissioner's decision on the disclosure of risk assessments relating to the Health and Social Care Bill.

Simon Burns: The Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November to require its release, and expects to respond by early December.

NHS: Reorganisation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what risk assessments (a) his Department and (b) independent consultants contracted by his Department have undertaken on the potential effects of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Simon Burns: The Department published Impact Assessments accompanying the Health and Social Care Bill in January 2011, which were revised in September 2011 ('Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, Health and Social Care Bill 2011 Impact Assessments'). These included an assessment of risk. It also maintains a register of transition risks associated with the Health and Care reforms that is updated regularly. In addition, in common with other Government Departments, the Department has commissioned a number of Office of Government Commerce Gateway reviews to provide additional assurance external to the Department in specific areas of the reform programme. More reviews are planned for the new year.

Nurses: Workplace Assault

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms his Department has put in place to provide support for nurses who have been assaulted in the workplace.

Simon Burns: Each national health service body has a duty to address the risks of violence to their staff and to support staff who are assaulted.
	Many NHS bodies provide employee assistance programmes for their staff, through which employees who have been assaulted can access confidential counselling.
	NHS Protect is the body responsible for leading work to tackle violence against NHS staff. The published agreement between NHS Protect, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service outlines how the parties should work together to provide support for the victims of assault. This includes keeping victims updated on the progress police investigation, decisions on charging or prosecution, consideration of out of court disposals, such as conditional cautions and penalty notices for disorder and the provision of personal impact statements from victims of assault prior to sentencing.
	Each NHS body must nominate a local specialist to manage security locally. This role includes identifying the level of support required by victims of assault and working with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to support them. NHS Protect supports the NHS locally by providing training on all aspects of security management, including support for victims of assault.

Nutrition: Children

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the exposure of children to marketing of unhealthy food and drink.

Anne Milton: The United Kingdom already has an extensive system of controls on marketing of foods that are high in salt, fat or sugar to children. A recent review by Ofcom indicates that children's exposure to television advertising for these foods has fallen by 37% since the introduction of controls and that advertising of unhealthy foods has been eliminated during children's airtime.
	The Department will continue to keep this area under review, including through discussion in the Food Network of the Public Health Responsibility Deal in the coming year.

Obesity: Health Services

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on (a) the effect of obesity on the NHS and (b) how effective care can be given to patients suffering from obesity-related health problems.

Simon Burns: Excess weight is a major cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer and is estimated to cost the national health service over £5 billion a year.
	The care and treatment of patients who are suffering from conditions as a result of being overweight or obese is a matter for their clinical team.
	The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Policy Research Programme (PRP) fund a wide range of research relating to the effect of obesity on the NHS and care for patients with diseases and conditions for which obesity is a risk factor.
	Details of projects funded through programmes managed by the NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) can be found on the CCF website at:
	www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/FundedProgrammes.aspx
	Details of projects funded through programmes managed by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Centre (NETSCC) can be found on the NETSCC website at;
	www.netscc.ac.uk/
	Details of studies hosted by the NIHR Clinical Research Network can be found on the UK Clinical Research Network portfolio database at:
	http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/search
	Details of research awards managed by the NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre (TCC) can be found on the TCC website at:
	www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk/
	Details of research funded by the PRP are available on the Department's website at:
	http://prp.dh.gov.uk/category/funded-research/

Obesity: Surgery

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was of (a) gastric bands, (b) each public health campaign relating to obesity and (c) other NHS weight loss services in each financial year since 1997.

Anne Milton: The Department does not hold information on the cost to primary care trusts of providing patients with a gastric band or of providing weight management services.
	The Change4Life campaign was launched in January 2009 to raise awareness of diet and physical activity, and to create a mass movement to reduce obesity levels. Approximately £50 million was spent on the Change4Life campaign in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and around £10 million was spent in 2010-11. The budget for 2011-12 is £8.5 million.
	Prior to 2009, the Government have a range of initiatives to provide individuals with information on diet, and physical activity to prevent obesity.

Patients: Per Capita Costs

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure per capita was in NHS Medway in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Simon Burns: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Amount spent per head of population in 2008-09 to 2010-11 by Medway primary care trust (PCT) 
			  £ 
			 2008-09 1,331 
			 2009-10 1,581 
			 2010-11 1,644 
			 Notes: 1. Expenditure per capita is interpreted to mean the total revenue expenditure of the PCT (the net operating costs). 2. The net operating cost is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of Medway PCT for 2008-09 to 2010-11. This figure is divided by the PCT's resident population to derive the spend-per-head figures provided above. Source: Audited Summarisation Schedules

Physiotherapy: Eastern Region

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a referral for physiotherapy is (a) in Bedford, (b) in the East of England and (c) nationally.

Simon Burns: The information requested is currently not collected centrally. The allied health professional (AHP) Referral to Treatment (RTT) Guide, published in 2010, sets out a framework of rules for clock starts and clock stops to measure waiting times for patients when accessing national health service AHP services including physiotherapy.
	Nationally, AHP RTT data collection and reporting was due to be mandated from April 2011, however, as part of the public health spending reviews, the implementation date for collecting data is being reviewed. In the meantime, it is expected that local NHS organisations will collect this data locally to help them identify where service improvement is most needed.
	Work between the Department and the NHS Information Centre is in place to ensure the development and mandate of data sets by which the AHP RTT data collected locally can be flowed to a central source for national reporting.
	The Allied Health Professional Referral to Treatment Guide can be found at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_115297.pdf

Postnatal Depression

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of support offered to women with postnatal health problems.

Anne Milton: It is for the national health service locally to ensure appropriate facilities, services and networks are in place to meet the needs of their local population.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published clinical guidelines on postnatal care in 2006 which set out the core care that women and babies should be offered during the first six to eight weeks after the birth. Every mother and baby will have an individual plan of care which may include additional care to that in the core guidance.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Standards for Maternity Care (published in 2008) state that all health professionals involved in the care of women following childbirth should refer women for support according to their needs.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to review the prescription charges system in the next 12 months; whether any such review will involve consultation with (a) patients' groups and (b) charities; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) on 4 May 2011, Official Report, columns 856-57W.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the additional carbon emissions which would be generated by an additional 10 million people projected to reside in the UK by 2033; and if he will estimate the additional renewable energy capacity which would be needed to abate the emissions arising from such a rise in population and maintain emissions at their current level.

Gregory Barker: The latest official Government projections by DECC for greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide were published in October 2011:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
	These provide projections for the period up to 2030. Projections beyond 2030 are not available. The projections assume that the UK population increases by 6.8 million between 2010 and 2030. This is the ONS principal 2008 based population projection, low migration variant. The 2008 based population projections were used because these were the latest available at the time of publication. The low migration variant assumption is used because this is the population assumption used by the Office for Budget Responsibility for GDP growth projections which also feed into the emissions projections. Projections under a scenario in which the UK population increased by 10 million are not available.
	Over the period 2010 to 2030 emissions are projected to fall by 168 MtCO2e from 586 MtCO2e to 418 MtCO2e. Carbon dioxide emissions are projected to fall by 146 MtCO2 from 496 MtCO2 to 350 MtCO2 over the same period. The projected fall is attributable to a range of factors including policy impacts on energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy. Under the central scenario assumptions in the emissions projections, renewable energy demand is projected to increase by 23 Mega tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) from 8.2 Mtoe to 30.9 Mtoe between 2010 and 2030. Renewables electricity generation capacity is projected to increase by 33 GW from 9 GW to 42 GW over the same period. As explained in the report, the generation and capacity mix is dependent on a number of assumptions. Other assumptions would lead to projected electricity demand being met by different capacity and generation mixes.
	The projections show that, under central assumptions, existing policies, including those that support increased use of renewable energy, are sufficient to ensure emissions continue to fall up until 2030 despite the projected increase in population of 6.8 million.

Energy: Business

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of planned mitigation measures for energy-intensive industries facing increased energy prices as a result of the introduction of the carbon floor price;
	(2)  what lessons his Department has learnt from Germany on ensuring that energy-intensive industries can operate competitively in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which energy-intensive industries will receive mitigation to counteract the effect of the carbon floor price on their production costs; and what plans there are to extend measures to gas-intensive industries in the future.

Gregory Barker: I am working closely with Government colleagues to deliver the commitment the Government gave earlier this year to create a package of measures to support those energy-intensive industries whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies. We will announce details before the end of the year.

Energy: Business

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what plans he has to make the UK a more competitive environment for energy-intensive industries following the Minister for Climate Change's recent visit to Germany;
	(2)  whether mitigation measures will enable the UK's energy-intensive industries to compete on a level playing field internationally following the introduction of the carbon price floor; and what plans there are to extend such measures to the UK's gas-intensive industries in the future.

Gregory Barker: I am working closely with Government colleagues to deliver the commitment the Government gave earlier this year to create a package of measures to support those energy-intensive industries whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies. We will announce details before the end of the year.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost per household was of the feed-in tariff scheme between April 2010 and October 2011.

Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates that the cost of the FITs scheme for 2010-11 was £14.4 million. Based on 26.3 million domestic customers, and domestic supply representing 38% of total electricity supply this would have added approximately 21p to a domestic consumer's annual electricity bill for 2010-11.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of how much the feed-in tariff added to energy prices in percentage terms in each of the last three years.

Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme costs for financial year 2010-11 (the first year of the FITs scheme) were £14.4 million. Based on 26.3 million domestic customers, and domestic supply representing 38% of total electricity supply this would have added approximately 21p (less than 1%) to a domestic consumer's annual electricity bill for 2010-11.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was paid to generators of renewable energy under his Department's feed-in tariff scheme in quarter (a) one and (b) two of 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates generation and export tariff payments (deemed and metered) for installations under the FIT scheme in Q1 of FIT Year 2 (April-June 2011) to be £10,101,593.26.
	The corresponding data for Q2 of FITs Year 2 have not been published yet.
	It should be noted that this estimate is based on payments data which were provided by FIT suppliers as part of the levelisation process. The periodic levelisation process uses payments claimed rather than payments made.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what workings and assumptions were used as the basis of the calculations included in paragraph 10 of his Department's press notice 11/091 of 31 October 2011 on the cost to consumers' annual domestic electricity bills in 2020 of supporting feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic at the current rate.

Gregory Barker: The DECC press notice stated that supporting solar photovoltaic (PV) at the current rate would add £26 to the average domestic electricity bill in 2020.
	This is based on our estimates that at current FITs tariff levels, £9.1/MWh would be added to the electricity price in 2020, and that average annual domestic electricity consumption, accounting for energy efficiency savings as a result of energy and climate change policies
	(1)
	, will be 2.9 MWh in 2020, Multiplying these together gives £26.
	(1) Energy efficiency savings as a result of policies reducing electricity consumption in 2020 include Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), CERT Extension, Community Energy Saving Programme, Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, Products Policy and Smart Meters.

Solar Power

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with representatives of the UK (i) solar and (ii) nuclear industry in the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: Ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders from both the solar photovoltaic and nuclear industry.
	Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.

Solar Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of electricity demand could be met by solar PV.

Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham), on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 43W.
	In addition a report by Arup, published by DECC alongside the recent renewables obligation consultation(1), suggests that solar PV could generate up to 5.4 TWh by 2020 (and 19.2 TWh by 2030) in financially unconstrained scenarios. These would represent extremely ambitious level of deployment given the current costs and conversion efficiencies of solar PV, the land required and UK levels of insulation.
	(1) ( )http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/conient/cms/consultations/cons_ro_ review/cons_ro_review.aspx

Solar Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many representations he has received from those (a) supporting and (b) opposing the development of solar photovoltaic (i) sites and (ii) feed-in tariffs.

Gregory Barker: During the development of the consultation ministers and officials met with a range of stakeholders.
	Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on (a) rates paid, (b) how long schemes have operated, (c) installed capacity and (d) how much average domestic power bills have increased in other EU member states with solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff schemes in the last five years.

Gregory Barker: The Department has met with and discussed as well as researched a range of other feed-in tariff schemes which are available in other countries. Every scheme is different and the amount of information available to us varies. We have rate information, length of operation and some data on installed capacity for a good number of schemes; all this information is publicly available. We do not hold any information on how much average domestic power bills have increased in other EU member states with solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff schemes in the last five years.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which representatives from the solar photovoltaic industry were consulted when drawing up the timetable for (a) the implementation of and (b) consultation on the new rates for solar photovoltaic tariffs.

Gregory Barker: During the development of the consultation ministers and officials met with a range of stakeholders from the solar photovoltaic industry.
	Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.